I received my Registered Physician Vascular Interpretation (RPVI) certification shortly
after graduating from Vascular and Interventional Radiology Fellowship at the world-renowned
Miami Cardiac and Vascular Institute while beginning my IR Attending journey at a
tertiary cancer center – Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). My love for
treating and caring for patients with arterial disease propelled my need to open a
vascular lab even in a place that traditionally did not accommodate the assessment
and care of such disease processes. I did not know where to turn or what to do to
start this vascular lab as there was so very little online and published. I knew I
was qualified to start one but had no idea how. Painstakingly, with the help of the
director of ultrasound Van Castor and support from Leadership – Rennie Mohabir and
Stephen Solomon, I pieced together a lot of the information within the following articles
in order to create our thriving vascular lab. A lot of the information gained was
common sense, but even more, was not. It is my sincere desire to demystify the process
of starting a vascular lab so that those wishing to do so will have a more straightforward
and “less guessing” process. Authors within these articles include practicing IR physicians,
Registered Vascular Technologists (RVTs), lab directors, innovators, such as Jill
Sommerset who described pedal acceleration time as an endpoint for revascularization
for critical limb ischemia, and trailblazers such as James Benenati. Authors represent
hospital-based as well as private-based practices. All of the authors are directly
engaged with the vascular lab experience on a day to day basis. Nothing within these
articles is theoretical and out of touch. It is all practical. I have included in
the articles personal experiences and “how we do it” sections, for example in teaching
Residents, marketing, and office-based scenarios. I have also included study resources
for accreditations, CMS approved indications for studies, protocols, diagnostic criteria
at a glance for disease entity evaluations, coding and billing, and even complex matters
such automation of reports by one of the most brilliant people I know, Krishna Juluru.
It is my hope that this special edition to help you set up and run a successful vascular
lab will set you on a journey towards a more fulfilling and influential practice;
and however that journey, comes about, straight or winding, I hope it will be a rewarding
and happy one.
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Publication history
Published online: September 04, 2022
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