Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 12, March 26, 2025
(a) These
standards will be used to evaluate certificate of need applications for cardiac
catheterization laboratory center services and cardiac surgery center services.
It is the intent of the Public Health and Health Planning Council that these
standards, when used in conjunction with the planning standards and criteria
set forth in section
709.1 of this Part, become a
statement of planning principles and decision-making tools for directing the
distribution of cardiac catheterization laboratory center services and cardiac
surgery center services. These planning principles and decision-making tools
build on the existing regional resources that have been developed through the
regulatory planning process. The goals and objectives of the standards
expressed herein are expected to promote access to cardiac catheterization
laboratory center services and cardiac surgery center services, and maintain
provider and operator volumes associated with high quality care, and avoid the
unnecessary duplication of resources while addressing the geographic
distribution of services necessary to meet the needs of patients in need of
emergency percutaneous coronary interventional (PCI) procedures. Additionally,
it is intended that the methodology provide sufficient flexibility to consider
additional circumstances that reflect on the need for cardiac services,
including providing flexibility for regional health systems to provide cardiac
services at sites that are convenient to patients in the communities they
serve.
(b) Cardiac surgery centers.
The factors for determining the public need for cardiac surgery center services
shall include, but not be limited to the following:
(1) The planning area for determining the
public need for cardiac surgery center services shall include the applicant's
designated health systems agency (HSA) region and the use area of the applicant
facility. For purposes of determining cardiac surgery center services need, the
use area of a facility is defined as the area within a 100 mile radius of the
applicant facility.
(2) Planning
for cardiac surgery center services shall ensure that, to the extent possible,
eighty percent of the total population of each HSA region resides within 100
miles of one or more facilities providing cardiac surgical services.
(3) A facility proposing to initiate an adult
cardiac surgery center must document a cardiac patient base and current cardiac
interventional referrals sufficient to support a projected annual volume of at
least 300 cardiac surgery cases and a projected annual volume of at least 36
emergency PCI cases within two years of approval. The criteria for evaluating
the need for additional adult cardiac surgery centers within the planning area
shall include consideration of appropriate access and utilization, and the
ability of existing services within the planning area to provide such services.
Waiver of this requirement may be considered if:
(i) the HSA region's age adjusted, population
based use rate is less than the statewide average use rate; and
(ii) existing adult cardiac surgery centers
in the applicant facility's planning area do not have the capacity or cannot
adequately address the need for additional cardiac surgical procedures, such
determinations to be based on factors including but not necessarily limited to
analyses of recent volume trends, analyses of Cardiac Reporting System data,
and review by the area Health Systems Agency(s); and
(iii) existing cardiac surgical referral
patterns within the planning area indicate that approval of an additional
service at the applicant facility will not jeopardize the minimum volume
required at other existing cardiac surgical programs.
(4) No finding of need for the addition of
pediatric cardiac surgery center services will be made unless each existing
pediatric cardiac surgery center service in the planning area is operating and
expected to continue to operate at a level of at least 200 pediatric cardiac
surgical procedures per year, and unless such existing pediatric cardiac
surgery center services do not have the further capacity to meet projected need
for additional pediatric cardiac surgical procedures. Where public need is
established herein, a facility proposing to provide pediatric cardiac surgical
services must demonstrate the ability to perform a minimum of 200 pediatric
cardiac surgical procedures per year by the end of the second full calendar
year of operation or demonstrate the ability to perform a minimum of 50 cases a
year on-site and operate as part of a coordinated program based on a fully
executed written agreement, approved by the commissioner, with another
pediatric cardiac surgery program in accordance with standards at section
405.29(d)(5)(ii)
of this Title. For hospitals seeking approval as part of a coordinated program,
the agreement must be submitted with the certificate of need application and
must be approved by the department prior to initiation of the
service.
(5) A facility proposing
to provide adult and/or pediatric cardiac surgery center services shall:
(i) submit a written plan to the Department
of Health which, when implemented, will ensure access to cardiac surgical
services for all segments of the HSA region's population. Such plan shall
provide a detailed plan to reach patients not currently served within the
planning area, ensure continuity of care for patients transferred between
facilities, and shall otherwise promote planning for cardiac services within
the region; and
(ii) propose a
hospital based heart disease prevention program that, when implemented, shall
include:
(a) Treatment plans for cardiac
inpatients with a principal diagnosis of ischemic heart disease. These patients
are at high risk for development of adverse cardiovascular events and the
program shall provide for the following in a comprehensive, systematic way:
(1) protocols shall be developed and
implemented for the assessment of risk factors including lipid disorders,
hypertension, diabetes, obesity, cigarette smoking, and sedentary lifestyle.
Such protocols shall be in keeping with generally accepted standards;
(2) the hospital shall provide patient
education that shall include, but not be limited to, information on the
importance of assessing risk factors for heart disease in first-degree
relatives, and the importance of cardiopulmonary (CPR) training for family
members and care givers;
(3)
discharge plans must include:
(i) a request
for consent to allow patient medical information to be shared with the
patient's primary care providers;
(ii) patient referral to their primary care
provider with documentation of treatments provided by the hospital and
follow-up care recommended by the hospital; and
(iii) patient referral to cardiac
rehabilitation programs appropriate to their needs.
(b) Professional education:
(1) the hospital shall sponsor or co-sponsor
at least three professional education programs per year related to heart
disease risk assessment and control and that are open to local community based
health professionals.
(c) Hospital based heart health promotion:
(1) the program shall implement policies and
health programs in the hospital and establish environments that promote
heart-healthy behaviors among hospital staff, employees and visitors,
including:
(i) prohibiting the sale and use
of tobacco products on hospital premises;
(ii) offering and promoting, on a regular
basis, healthful choices in hospital cafeterias and patient menus;
and
(iii) offering employee
wellness and fitness programs that provide opportunities for employees to make
healthy choices.
(d) Community based heart health promotion:
(1) The hospital shall organize or
participate in a consortium of existing community-based organizations and key
community leaders to engage in activities to improve cardiac health in the
community; and
(2) organize or
participate in at least one major community based campaign (not including
health fairs) each year related to major heart disease risk factors.
(e) Program administration:
(1) hospitals shall identify a team within
their organization to coordinate heart disease prevention activities. Members
of the team shall include a broad range of expertise, including but not limited
to: community organization, planning, and social marketing, public health
skills and health education.
(6) When considering an application to meet
public need for adult and or pediatric cardiac surgery center services,
priority consideration shall be given to the expansion of an existing service
as opposed to the initiation of a new cardiac surgery center.
(7) Where public need is established herein,
priority consideration will be given to applicants that agree to serve the
medically indigent and patients regardless of the source of payment.
(8) Applicants proposing to initiate an adult
and or pediatric cardiac surgery center service must:
(i) demonstrate the ability to comply with
standards set forth in sections
405.29(c) and (d)
and 711.4(h) of this
Title; and
(ii) in addition, a
facility providing pediatric cardiac surgery center services also must comply
with the requirements specified in section
711.4(f) of this
Title.
(9) All hospitals
approved as adult cardiac surgery centers shall be approved as PCI capable
cardiac catheterization laboratory centers and must meet standards in sections
405.29(c),
(e)(1), and (2) of this Title. All hospitals
approved as pediatric cardiac surgery centers shall be approved as pediatric
cardiac catheterization laboratory centers and must meet the standards in
section 405.29(c), (e)(1) and
(4) of this Title.
(c) For the purposes of this section the
terms cardiac catheterization laboratory center, percutaneous coronary
intervention (PCI) capable cardiac catheterization laboratory center, cardiac
electrophysiology (EP) laboratory program and pediatric cardiac catheterization
laboratory center shall have the same meanings as in section
405.29(a)(4) of
this Title.
(d) Public need for
cardiac catheterization laboratory centers:
(1) PCI capable cardiac catheterization
laboratory centers. The factors and methodology for determining the public need
for PCI capable cardiac laboratory centers shall include, but not be limited to
the following:
(i) PCI capable cardiac
catheterization laboratory centers at hospitals with a cardiac surgery center
on site. Applicants approved as cardiac surgery centers are approved PCI
capable cardiac catheterization laboratory centers as provided under paragraph
(b)(9) of this section and must meet standards at section
405.29(c), (e)(1) and
(2) of this Title.
(ii) PCI capable cardiac catheterization
laboratory centers at hospitals with no cardiac surgery on site. Determinations
of public need for PCI capable cardiac catheterization laboratory centers at
hospitals with no cardiac surgery on-site will be differentiated between:
(A) hospitals that are established by the
Public Health and Health Planning Council as co-operators with a hospital that
is a cardiac surgery center as defined in section
405.29(a)(3) of
this Title; and
(B) hospitals that
have a clinical sponsorship with a cardiac surgery center as defined in section
405.3(f)(3) of
this Title and that are applying to be a PCI capable cardiac catheterization
laboratory center. For the purposes of this section, clinical sponsorship shall
mean that the hospital applying to be a PCI capable cardiac catheterization
laboratory center has entered into a clinical sponsorship agreement with a
cardiac surgery center acceptable to the department and in accordance with the
standards established in section
405.29(c)(8)(i)
of this Title.
(iii) For
both co-operated hospitals and hospitals that are proposing to enter into a
clinical sponsorship agreement, factors for determining public need shall
include, but are not limited to:
(a) the
planning area for determining the public need for PCI capable cardiac
catheterization laboratory centers at hospitals with no cardiac surgery on-site
shall be the area within a one hour average surface travel time, as determined
by the department of transportation and adjusted for typical weather
conditions, of the applicant facility, unless otherwise determined by the
commissioner in accordance with section
709.1(c) of this
Title;
(b) documentation by the
applicant must demonstrate the hospital's ability to provide high quality
appropriate care that would yield a minimum of 36 emergency PCI procedures per
year within the first year of operation.
(1)
Documentation of the number of cardiologists on staff at the proposed site,
credentialed by the co-operated hospital, and/or employed by the clinical
sponsorship hospital who currently perform percutaneous coronary interventions
at other hospital sites and a summary of experience (including the most recent
3 years of volume and outcomes) for each.
(2) Documentation in support of volume
projections for emergency PCI procedures must include, at a minimum: discharge
data indicating the number of patients with a diagnosis of acute myocardial
infarction (AMI) and/or other diagnoses associated with PCI, the number of
doses of thrombolytic therapy ordered for acute MI patients in the applicant
hospital's emergency department (as documented through hospital pharmacy
records), and documentation of transfers to existing PCI capable cardiac
catheterization laboratory centers for PCI.
(3) Additional documentation that may be
submitted in support of the need for a proposed PCI capable cardiac
catheterization laboratory center include:
(i) the number of acute care beds at the
applicant hospital and the range of acute care services provided;
(ii) documentation by the applicant of
barriers that impact care experienced by specific population groups within the
planning area and demonstration of cultural competency at the applicant site
specific to the proposed populations to be served by the applicant;
(iii) documentation by the applicant
demonstrating outreach to underserved populations that identifies potential new
PCI cases within the service area;
(iv) emergency department discharge
data;
(v) documentation by the
applicant of regional demographics and transport patterns within the
applicant's emergency medical service (EMS) region that impact the provision of
cardiac care;
(vi) the geographic
distribution of PCI capable cardiac catheterization laboratory center services
and the ability of such existing centers to serve the patients in the
applicant's service area;
(vii)
letters from local physicians quantifying the number of PCI referrals from
their practice and the portion of those that would have been treated at the
applicant facility if PCI had been available;
(c) a written plan submitted by the applicant
that demonstrates the hospital's ability to comply with standards for PCI
capable cardiac catheterization laboratory centers at sections
405.29(c), (e)(1) and
(2) of this Title;
(d) a written plan submitted by the applicant
that outlines staff training and demonstrates the hospital's readiness to
accommodate the needs of the PCI patients;
(e) a written plan has been submitted by the
applicant which would promote access to cardiac catheterization laboratory
center services for all segments of the hospital service area's population. The
document shall include:
(1) a description of
current and proposed initiatives for improving outcomes for patients with heart
disease,
(2) a plan documenting the
hospital's ability to maintain a comprehensive program in which high quality
interventional procedures are provided as a component of a broad range of
cardiovascular care within the hospital and within the community, to include an
emphasis on processes of care and a description of how a patient will traverse
through the system of care to be offered,
(3) a plan for ensuring continuity of care
for patients transferred between facilities,
(4) documentation of outreach to regional EMS
councils served by the applicant,
(5) documentation that EMS system
capabilities have been taken into consideration in the delivery of cardiac
services;
(6) a description of
activities that promote planning for cardiac services within the region;
and
(7) a description of current
and proposed initiatives and strategies for reaching patients not currently
served within the area.
(f) comments and recommendations received
from community organizations;
(g)
the hospital shall propose and implement a hospital heart disease prevention
program as set forth at subparagraph (b)(5)(ii) of this section;
(h) a description of existing and planned
activities to serve the medically indigent and populations that experience
health disparities.
(2) Cardiac EP laboratory programs. Factors
for determining public need for cardiac EP laboratory programs shall include
but not be limited to the following:
(i) Each
applicant for a cardiac EP laboratory program shall be an approved PCI capable
cardiac catheterization laboratory center or an approved diagnostic cardiac
catheterization service operating in compliance with standards at section
405.29(c) and (e)
of this Title. Applicants for EP laboratory programs will also be considered in
conjunction with requests for approval of PCI capable cardiac catheterization
laboratory center services.
(ii)
Each applicant shall submit documentation, describing how the hospital will
comply with standards at section
405.29(e)(5) of
this Title.
(iii) Each applicant
shall submit documentation of existing referrals for cardiac electrophysiology
patients treated by cardiologists on staff at the hospital.
(iv) Applicants for cardiac EP laboratory
programs at hospitals with no cardiac surgery center on-site must submit a copy
of the patient selection criteria for the proposed program in accordance with
the standards at section
405.29(e)(5)(iii)
of this Title.
(v) Hospitals
approved as cardiac surgery centers shall be deemed to have demonstrated public
need to perform cardiac electrophysiology.
(3) Pediatric cardiac catheterization
laboratory centers. Public need for a pediatric cardiac catheterization
laboratory center shall be determined only in conjunction with an application
for a pediatric cardiac surgery center and when need has been demonstrated for
pediatric cardiac surgery centers in accordance with standards at subdivision
(b) of this section.
(4) For
co-operated hospitals under subdivision (d)(1)(ii) of this section:
(i) The application for PCI services must be
submitted jointly by the applicant facility and the co-operated
parent.
(ii) Documentation
acceptable to the department must be submitted demonstrating that all cardiac
catheterization laboratory centers within the co-operated parent's system have
staff sharing agreements that include, at a minimum, provisions for rotation
and training of staff with the parent hospital and integration into the parent
hospital's quality and patient safety programs, quality assurance and peer
review.
(iii) Documentation
acceptable to the department must be submitted demonstrating that the
co-operated parent hospital will be responsible for maintaining the competency
of the cardiac interventionalist physicians, nursing, and technical staff
performing services at the applicant facility.
(iv) Documentation acceptable to the
department must be submitted demonstrating that the co-operated parent hospital
will be responsible for ensuring that the applicant facility can provide PCI
services on a 24 hour a day, 365 days a year basis and is capable of assembling
a dedicated team within 30 minutes of the activation call to provide coronary
interventions 24 hours a day and 365 days each year.
(v) If the co-operated parent is not in the
planning area of the applicant facility, then the applicant facility must
document that it has an emergency transfer agreement with a New York State
Cardiac Surgery Center in the planning area that has an on-site cardiac surgery
program.
(5) For
applicant hospitals in a clinical sponsorship relationship with a New York
State Cardiac Surgery Center:
(i) the
application for PCI services must be submitted by the applicant
hospital.
(ii) the sponsoring New
York State Cardiac Surgery Center must be located in the same planning area as
the applicant hospital.
(iii) the
sponsoring New York State Cardiac Surgery Center must perform at a level of at
least 600 PCI procedures per year.
(iv) a written and signed PCI clinical
sponsorship agreement with the sponsoring New York State Cardiac Surgery
Center, acceptable to the department and in accordance with standards at
section 405.29(c)(8)(i)
of this Title, must be submitted. The PCI clinical sponsorship agreement must
specify that the department shall be provided 60 days prior written
notification of any proposed change, termination or expiration of the
agreement, and any changes must be found acceptable to the department prior to
implementation.
The agreement shall further provide that the parties
agree that termination or expiration of the agreement shall result in closure
of the applicant hospital's cardiac catheterization laboratory center.
(v) both the applicant hospital
and the sponsoring hospital must submit written documentation demonstrating
that the respective governing bodies have approved the clinical sponsorship
agreement.