About Us

Founded in 1996, CASTS has served as a professional society for cardiothoracic surgeons in California. The Board of Directors and staff have promoted communications by hosting quarterly meetings and other activities. The California Healthcare Foundation awarded CASTS a grant in 2003, the California Cardiac Surgery Initiative (CCSI), in partnership with the California chapter of the American College of Cardiology to enhance the effectiveness of the mandatory reporting law, SB-680. Phase I of the project (2003-2005) focused on assisting providers in complying with data collection requirements and developing infrastructure for reporting outcomes and evaluating processes of care.

Phase II expanded the project to include all cardiac surgery procedures and interventional cardiology. Additional support from the Blue Shield of California Foundation facilitated CASTS' efforts to publish outcomes from the OSHPD Patient Discharge Dataset on its web site, develop a regional STS report for members, and conduct site visits and information exchanges on best practices for quality improvement. CASTS has contributed expertise for the CCORP Clinical Advisory Panel and technical support to OSHPD for the startup of the public reporting program. During the past year, CASTS has engaged in outreach efforts with surgeons, CCORP staff, information technology vendors, and hospital clinical data managers. The latter have attended workshops on enhancing data integrity through training and cross-hospital dialogue.

The incoming president of the CASTS is Jeffrey C. Milliken, MD, Chief, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, U.C. Irvine Medical Center.  The outgoing president is James MacMillan, MD, a practicing surgeon from Modesto and member of the CCORP Clinical Advisory Panel.  The founding and emeritus executive director is Joseph Carey, MD, Torrance.  The current executive director is Edwin Fonner, Jr., DrPH.  Recent funding for CASTS activities has been provided by the Blue Shield of California Foundation, San Francisco.  Pictures above are from data management workshops held in Torrance and Concord in September 2008.

Expected Outcomes of CASTS Initiatives in 2009-2010:

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}

Communications – CASTS will improve the frequency and quality of inter-disciplinary communications among data managers, clinical staff, and surgeons. Headway is being made with data managers and hospital staff. CASTS will attempt to improve rapport between the cardiac surgical community, CCORP, medical societies, payers, and the media.

Best practices and baseline data – CASTS will increase opportunities for sharing information on care processes that improve patient outcomes. Specific protocols and evidence-based guidelines will be posted on the web site and discussed at CASTS meetings. Better baseline data will be available for measuring improved processes and outcomes.

Cost effectiveness – Cost savings should emerge with opportunities to improve post-operative outcomes. Favorable returns on investment can be earned by pursing initiatives like reducing blood use with adherence to new JCAHO guidelines on blood management.

Collaboration – Participants in CASTS workshops, web forums, and conference calls will share information on improving patient care and data integrity. Opportunities for surgeons to exchange ideas via web forums and conference calls will strengthen voice and promote cooperation.

Health information technology – Available tools and comparative data should improve decision-making. CASTS will provide outcomes data from STS and administrative sources with web-based dashboards. Online forums, a clinical data abstraction tool, and idea exchanges will improve learning. The comparability of data for public reporting will accrue from collaboration by data mangers and CCORP.

Improved Health Literacy – A patient education module, if effectively disseminated, will inform patients, family, and care givers about relative risks and benefits of treatment alternatives. It will be a breakthrough if CASTS is able to create a communications bridge between surgeons, cardiologists, and primary care focusing on appropriateness of CABG versus stent.