Experts came together on the final day of ACC Quality Summit 2022 to tackle how organizations should approach rebuilding their cardiovascular teams in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Steven M. Bradley, MD, MPH, presented on the tremendous impact that the pandemic has had on the cardiovascular field, from delayed procedures to poorer outcomes to supply chain shortages. Many health care professionals with considerable experience in cardiovascular care were called to help in intensive care, and many involved primarily in quality transferred to direct patient care.

With so many health systems still feeling the strain of worker burnout, Bradley emphasized the need for hospitals and other health care facilities to keep quality front of mind: “There are cost savings attributed to the work we do.”

Jessie Dunne, PharmD, BCPS, BCCP, and Jesus Navarro, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, proposed how their professions can work to fill in gaps in cardiovascular care, improving patient education, medication management, and referral rates.

Ginger Biesbrock, DSc, PA-C, FACC, emphasized the importance of starting with the patient and developing care objectives to build the most effective care team. “We’re in a tough spot right now,” said Biesbrock, “But there are things that we can do to stabilize this like going back to the basics, back to the objective of care we’re trying to achieve.”

The panel additionally discussed how to approach care team members working in unexpected roles, the importance of structured protocols and processes in the wake of staffing shortages, and the need for redundancy and close-knit teamwork to provide the best quality cardiovascular care.

For more coverage of ACC Quality Summit 2022, check out the conference’s digital newspaper and follow along for live updates on social media.

Clinical Topics: Cardiovascular Care Team, COVID-19 Hub, Prevention, Stress

Keywords: Patient Education as Topic, Burnout, Psychological, Workforce, Referral and Consultation, Hospitals, Delivery of Health Care, Patient Care, Critical Care, Health Personnel, Patient Care Team, Social Media, Medication Therapy Management, Medication Therapy Management, Cost Savings, Advanced Practice Nursing, Pandemics, COVID-19, Quality Summit

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