AACVPR News & Views - March/April 2017 - 3

LETTER FROM >> THE EDITOR

The Business
of Cardiac &
Pulmonary Rehab
Tracy A. Herrewig, MS, RCEP, FAACVPR

"If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door."
- Milton Berle

M

r. Berle's words
are quite relevant
in today's world
of cardiac and
pulmonary rehab.
Opportunity is knocking all around
us but sometimes it is difficult to find
the "door" in our current practice
model. The proposed episode
payment model is driving us to
evaluate our current practice and
create new opportunities (doors) for
patients who may not have been
able to participate in cardiac rehab
in the past; to decrease the time
from hospital discharge to outpatient
cardiac rehab participation; and to
create new processes for our staff
to become more efficient and, more
importantly, more effective in the
care of our patients. And although
the episode payment model pertains
only to cardiac rehab programs, we
can apply the lessons learned to our
pulmonary rehab programs as well.
Amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos once
said, "A common question that gets
asked in business is, 'Why?' That's
a good question but an equally
valid question is, 'Why not?'" This is
exactly the mindset we need as we
embark on this latest adventure.

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*

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Why do we schedule one
patient at a time for his/her
orientation session?
Why do some physicians
require a waiting period
between hospital discharge
and the start of outpatient
cardiac rehab?
Why not let your Phase II
patients exercise in your Phase
III programs on days they do
not attend Phase II?
Why not ask your patients to
contribute to a philanthropic
fund to help other patients who
cannot attend cardiac rehab
because of high co-pays,
deductibles, etc?

These and more questions are
answered via the turnkey strategies
outlined on the R2R page on the
AACVPR website.
The majority of AACVPR members
consider themselves clinicians, not
business people, but it is critical that
we understand potential business
opportunities or "doors" to improve
the sustainability of our programs
and to improve the quality of care
we provide our patients. 

BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President
Thomas A. Draper, MBA, FAACVPR
President-Elect
Todd M. Brown, MD, MSPH, FAACVPR
Immediate Past President
Adam T. deJong, MA, FAACVPR, FACSM
Secretary
Kate Traynor, RN, MS, FAACVPR
Treasurer
Dean Diersing, MS, RCEP, EP-C, EIM3,
CCRP, FAACVPR
Directors
Alison L. Bailey, MD
Bob Brown, MPH, MBA, FMFA, FAACVPR
Tracy A. Herrewig, MS, RCEP, FAACVPR
Steven Keteyian, PhD, FAACVPR
Trina M. Limberg, BS, RRT, MAACVPR
Charlotte Teneback, MD
Director-at-Large
Cathie Biga, MSN
Executive Director
Megan Cohen

MISSION STATEMENT
Founded in 1985, the American Association of
Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation
(AACVPR) is dedicated to our mission of
reducing morbidity, mortality and disability
from cardiovascular and pulmonary disease
through education, prevention, rehabilitation,
research and disease management. Central to
the core mission is improvement in quality of
life for patients and their families.

AACVPR Headquarters
330 North Wabash Avenue, Suite 2000
Chicago, Illinois 60611
Phone: 312/321-5146
Fax: 312/673-6924

Connect with AACVPR
http://www.aacvpr.org/R2R
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AACVPR News & Views - March/April 2017
