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Private Practice
The Department’s private practice has experienced steady
growth since its inception in the 1980s, with overall activity more
than doubling and ambulatory visits almost tripling over the past
10 years to over 100,000 annual visits. These achievements most
recently include:
- Development of the Cardiovascular Thoracic Institute (CVTI)
- Development of Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Service
- Expansion of Transplant Programs for Liver, Lung and Kidney
- Expansion of Home Visit Program
- Development of Same Day/Next Day Cardiology Service
- Expansion of Rheumatology Service
- Expansion of Infusion Center
The opening of USC University Hospital in 1991 meant that opportunities
had to be carefully prioritized. The first and foremost priority
was provision of quality patient care, leading to a shift toward
recruitment of clinically oriented faculty. Over the last academic
year, the Department was successful in continuing to fulfill its
long term-goal of recruiting a critical mass of highly skilled clinical
cardiologists to continue the Department’s quest for clinical
excellence in all private practice disciplines. These recruitments
included a heralded leader in interventional cardiology. This and
continued cardiovascular recruitments come in synchrony with the
University’s vision to create the Cardiovascular Thoracic
Institute (CVTI). Despite lacking an emergency room and ancillary
tests (e.g., echocardiograms, nuclear cardiology scans and stress
tests) in our offices, the Department of Medicine made very large
investments to fulfill its commitments to clinical excellence and
the needs of our campus and colleagues. During this year, the CVTI
created a patient-friendly venue in which nuclear, echocardiographic
and electrophysiological studies could be performed utilizing the
most sophisticated technology and interpreted by the most expert
academic cardiologists.
At this time, the Department accounts for approximately 45% of
admissions at USC/Norris Cancer Hospital and 30% of admissions at
USC University Hospital. DOM faculty provided an average of 132
patient encounters per day for Fiscal Year 2008 in which the average
daily census approximated 180 at both hospitals. DOM faculty provide
consultative services to a large number of patients throughout the
hospitals, as well as a great deal of the pre- and post-operative
care for patients from the Arthritis Center and the Kidney, Lung
and Liver Transplantation Programs. Faculty from the Divisions of
Geriatric, Hospital and General Internal Medicine, Nephrology, Pulmonary
and Critical Care Medicine, Rheumatology, and Gastrointestinal and
Liver Diseases often co-manage the complex cases from these programs
on the general medical-surgical wards or in the intensive care units.
At USC/Norris Cancer Hospital, DOM oncologists and hematologists
provide a substantial amount of hospital activity. DOM faculty admitted
approximately 7,000 patients to the day hospital in Fiscal Year
2008. This total accounted for 90% of total admissions to the day
hospital for the entire year. Day hospital admissions usually involve
chemotherapy, which is a major component of the hospital’s
profile of clinical services.
USC University Hospital and USC/Norris Cancer Hospital are the
two primary hospitals to which the Department admits its private
patients. USC/Norris Cancer Hospital inpatient beds are expected
to relocate to a new 150-bed tower at USC University Hospital after
completion in 2008. The main hub of the Department’s private
outpatient activity is the new Healthcare Consultation Center II.
Other than the Divisions of Hematology and Oncology, which continue
to conduct their private outpatient care at USC/Norris Cancer Hospital,
all other Divisions practice at the Healthcare Consultation Center
II. These Divisions include Cardiovascular Medicine, Endocrinology,
Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases, Geriatric, Hospital and General
Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Nephrology, Pulmonary and
Critical Care Medicine, and Rheumatology. The Department also provides
ambulatory care for patients at the DaVita-USC Kidney Dialysis Center,
the Arthritis Center, the USC Westside Center for Diabetes, and
the Faculty Staff Clinic (FSC), now located at the Doctors of USC
downtown office (USCDT) in Los Angeles (formerly the Executive Health
and Imaging Center). The FSC provides a valuable opportunity for
USC faculty and staff at the University Park Campus to seek urgent
and primary care services from our general medicine faculty by traveling
via shuttle service to the USCDT. The FSC consistently rates highest
among the clinical venues in terms of patient satisfaction. In aggregate,
the Department offers a full panel of specialists as well as an
active group of primary care physicians.
The clinical practice’s web site can be found at http://www.usc.edu/health/internal/.
The site allows the visitor to interact with, rather than merely
view, content. Consumers, be they patients, physicians, pharmacies
or others, can learn about the practice and its programs and providers,
as well as establish appointments, request prescription refills
and ask general questions. The web site is a useful marketing tool
and is already atop many of the commonly used search engine lists.
Practice governance is enhanced by a faculty committee structure.
The Practice Operations and Development Committee reports directly
to the Chair of the Department. It meets monthly and has four standing
subcommittees: Operations, Billing and Contracting, Development,
and Compliance. During the next fiscal year, we anticipate overall
growth of the practice stimulated in part by Departmental and Divisional
recruiting and marketing efforts as well as the development of an
Osteoporosis Monitoring Program.
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