Cardiology
Associates has earned a Platinum Award in the Arkansas Foundation for Medical
Care’s annual Quality Awards program.
The award recognizes the physician office for using electronic health records to improve patient care. In the case of Cardiology Associates, the award recognizes the clinic and its physicians and staff for commitment to core measures which are indicators of quality care. Those included use of aspirin or other antithrombotic, preventive care and screening for tobacco use and counseling intervention on smoking cessation and hypertension screening.
The quality awards are designed to recognize improvement in individual healthcare organizations’ performance in AFMC’s quality improvement projects. The Platinum Award is given to physician offices that satisfy all four of the following criteria:
The award was presented at a recent dinner at AFMC’s annual Quality Conference in Hot Springs.
Cardiology Associates was the only cardiology group in Arkansas recognized for use of electronic health records to improve care of its cardiology and vascular patients.
AFMC personnel congratulated clinic personnel on commitment to high quality healthcare.
For 40 years, through utilization review, quality improvement projects and public education, the Arkansas Foundation for Medical Care has worked to improve the health of Arkansans. Its mission is to promote excellence in health and healthcare through evaluation and education.
Cardiology Associates is the largest cardiology practice in Northeast Arkansas, with all of its physicians on the medical staff at St. Bernards Medical Center. The 12 cardiologists include some trained as interventional cardiologists and others trained as invasive/noninvasive cardiologists and two trained in electrophysiology (electrical activity of the heart). Cardiovascular services are provided by Dr. Richard Stevenson and Dr. Jack S. Havdala of Heart Surgery Associates of Arkansas.
Cardiologists include Drs. Max Arroyo, Ahmad Al-Hindi, Ziad R. Awar, W. Brian Bailey, Jamie Rene Chavez, Ammar Hallak, Roger D. Hill, John D. McKee, Athan Stoyioglou and Barry C. Tedder. Electrophysioloogists Drs. F. Roosevelt Gilliam III and Devi Gopinath Nair are the only electrophysiologists in Northeast Arkansas, and St. Bernards is the only medical center with a dedicated Electrophysiology Lab in its Heartcare Center.
The AFMC quality program recognizes excellence in healthcare.