Cardiac Catheterization Services without Cardiac Surgery Services

A hospital that operates a cardiac catheterization service and does not provide cardiac surgery services shall not perform procedures specified in Department guidelines and shall maintain a current written collaboration agreement with at least one tertiary hospital with a cardiac surgery program. The agreement shall include all of the following: (1) Guidelines for the selection of patients appropriate for cardiac catheterization at the hospital without cardiac surgery. (2) Provisions for emergency and routine transfer of patients including timely transfer of appropriate patient information. Language shall be included that describes the agreed upon cardiac catheterization image standard, to avoid redundant catheterization. (3) Provisions that specify that cardiac surgery staff and facilities shall be immediately available to the patient upon notification of an emergency. (4) Provisions that specify the responsibility for arranging transportation to the receiving hospital. (5) Provisions for joint quality assurance reviews. (6) Provisions for joint training and ongoing education of staff. (7) Explicit description of responsibilities of each party to the agreement.