January 2017

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Volume 17 Issue 1

Editorial Staff

Clinical Editor
Bradley Knight, MD
Executive Editor
Laurie Gustafson
Managing Editor
Jodie Elrod
Production Manager
Alexa Flinn

Editorial Correspondence

Jodie Elrod, Managing Editor, EP Lab Digest
HMP Communications, 70 E. Swedesford Rd
Suite 100, Malvern PA 19355
Telephone: (800) 371-0791

Fax: (866) 488-8273
Email: jelrod@hmpglobal.com
Modernizing the Ambulatory Care Model to Improve Physician Efficiency
The current inefficient ambulatory care model has not kept up with new expectations. This is particularly true for medical proceduralists who evaluate patients in the outpatient venue. After years of watching clinic physicians be piled on, the Americ…
Opening a Hybrid OR: Experience at St. Rita’s Medical Center
B. John Hynes, MD, FHRS, CCDS discusses the construction and use of a hybrid OR at St. Rita’s in Lima, Ohio. 
Components of the EP Study, Part 1
Linda Moulton, RN, MS and Kriegh Moulton, MD review the purpose of each component of an EP study, and then focus on measurement of baseline intervals.
Editorial: Whose Responsibility Is It?
Neil Sanghvi, MD asks: Why should the patient be subjected to a financial burden when the product they have purchased has malfunctioned? 
Opening a MediGuide-Enabled Lab: Interview with Brett Faulknier, DO, FACC, FHRS
We speak with Dr. Brett Faulknier, Director of Electrophysiology at Indian River Medical Center in Florida, about the hospital’s new $5 million EP lab that features MediGuide™ Technology (St. Jude Medical).  
Related news
Cardiovascular Wage Survey Results Help Healthcare Professionals Gain a Big Picture Perspective and Better Manage Their Career
Tom Harmon presents the results of the 2016-2017 Cath Lab, EP, and IR Wage Survey, which was designed to provide comprehensive insight into the salaries and wages of employees in that sector. 
Building an Infrastructure to Handle Incoming Data
Bruce L. Wilkoff, MD, FHRS, CCDS describes the ways in which CIED follow-up has the ability to leverage all the best aspects of medical care. 
Back to Basics: Deciphering Pacemaker ECGs
Christine Chiu-Man, MSc describes a systematic approach for deciphering pacemaker ECGs. 
The Esophagus and Atrial Fibrillation Ablation: Anatomical Considerations and Practices
Moustafa Elsheshtawy, MD et al discuss how operators can achieve a successful ablation while minimizing risk to the esophagus.  
Using the WATCHMAN LAAC Device: From a Coordinator’s Perspective
Tara Mudd, MSN, APRN, NP-C presents a case in which the WATCHMAN Left Atrial Appendage Closure device (Boston Scientific) was implanted.