Welcome to CASTS
CASTS Update April 2012
The CASTS has obtained a grant from the Unihealth Foundation to form a regional collaborative group in Southern California. A message from Dr. Joe Carey and a summary of the project protocol and goals are posted in the resources section.
The CASTS surgeons/data managers meetings will be held May 2 (Northern) and May 16 (Southern California). Agendas are posted in the events section.
A hospital dues process has been established; surgeons are not assessed dues. A listing of hospitals that have paid participation fees, and the suggested levels of participation, is included in the members section.
New web sites have been developed to better inform all stakeholders about cardiovascular surgery and interventions:
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CaliforniaCardiacSurgery.com provides comprehensive outcomes of all cardiac surgery procedures and percutaneous coronary interventions.
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CaliforniaHeartHospitals.com is a directory of hospitals that offer cardiac surgery and interventional procedures, with links to their web sites.
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CaliforniaHeartSurgery.org is a directory of all surgeons who are actively performing cardiac surgery, with links to their hospital or personal web sites.
The CASTS hopes to engage patients and other healthcare stakeholders, as well as physicians and cardiac team members, in the quality improvement process. Consistency and transparency in data reporting is critical to the process of communication across personal and professional boundaries. Input from all disciplines and individuals will be sought and valued.
What Should You Expect of a Professional Society? The California Society of Thoracic Surgeons (CASTS) was established in 1996. It is your society, ‘you' being the state's cardiac surgical community. While your day-to-day practices may be buffeted by many challenges including internal and external competition, you expect the Society to be a unifying force and a credible voice upholding high professional standards. You expect the organization to favorably impact policy and legislative affairs, to advocate fairness in reporting, to promote quality care, and to create a solid base for decision-making with effective communications. Here are some of CASTS's short-term objectives:
- Quality Improvement - Establishing a dialogue, an action plan, and a QI agenda involving multiple heart programs and practices will place CASTS on high ground by favorably impacting standards of care. With Blue Shield of CA Foundation funding, we can define a model ‘quality agenda' for the state's cardiac surgical community.
- Legislative Affairs - There will continue to be bills and initiatives originating in Sacramento that require review and comment. We need a group to defend the interests of your heart programs by articulating a stand on policy matters.
- ·A Learning Community - To create a level playing field for public reporting and collect defensible data for research and analysis, a series of workshops, training sessions, and other activities will be implemented.
- Multidisciplinary Communications - CASTS will encourage interest groups of surgeons, data management staff, and hospital QI staff to exchange ideas and information. Overcoming travel barriers and time constraints by adopting technologies that facilitate interaction will be explored.
- Building a Stable Source of Support - Developing an operating budget with membership dues participation supplemented by grants to pursue strategic initiatives will be critical.
Beyond this, there is an ambitious list of advocacy, communications, research, and other initiatives that can be undertaken over time. First, we must move from reactive to proactive and from tenuously supported to responsibly managed. My initial impressions are favorable. There is a critical mass of individuals that can help position the state's cardiac surgical community as innovative and forward thinking. |
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