By Pohla Smith

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Outpatient visits to the Gerald McGinnis Cardiovascular Institute are as convenient as one-stop shopping, with doctors and other health professionals all in one place at Allegheny General Hospital.

In-hospital patients, meanwhile, benefit from a system in which all the caregivers gather daily after visiting their patients to brief each other on the patients' conditions, thus preventing overlap or omissions in care. The attending physician or a physician assistant then returns to see the patients and tell them what was reported during the briefings.

"We champion multidiscipline, patient-focused care," said Dr. Srinivas Murali, director of cardiology at Allegheny General.

So does the administration of West Penn Allegheny Health System, which includes Allegheny General and other hospitals.

A patient- and family-centered care system is in place in the maternity department at Western Pennsylvania Hospital in Bloomfield, a spokeswoman said. At its Ed Dardanell Heart & Vascular Center at West Penn Hospital-Forbes Regional Campus, patients are being debriefed on their experiences, good and bad, at focus groups.

"We're actually doing innovative things at Forbes Dardanell Center that allow the patient-and-family experience," said Diane Frndak, vice president of organizational excellence for the health system. "We have a grant from Highmark Foundation to do more creative problem-solving and process redesign using the entire team that cares for the patient."

The entire-team approach is well-established for both outpatients and inpatients at Allegheny General's McGinnis Institute.

For the former, it starts when they pull into the huge driveway outside the main entrance of the 7,000-square-foot first-floor complex and their cars are parked by a valet. "Most of our patients come from outside of Allegheny County," Dr. Murali said. "They're not used to the traffic and the congestion."

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