Optimizing cardiovascular imaging in Staphylococcus aureus endocarditis

Abstract

The shift toward value-based healthcare emphasizes optimization of resources and encourages physicians to examine current practices for opportunities to improve outcomes with innovative solutions. In a quality improvement initiative, there was discordance between cardiology and non-cardiology providers in ordering echocardiograms based on Appropriate Use Criteria (AUC) for Echocardiography. 1 This was especially significant for evaluation of diseases such as infective endocarditis (IE) and cerebrovascular accident, both of which require multidisciplinary care. This discordance highlights the necessity to create an algorithm for cardiovascular