Medicine advances almost daily.  Regulations and standards that were put in place years ago are routinely revised, reversed or cancelled outright. Like many procedures, angioplasty has advanced significantly since it was first introduced some two decades ago and it is now generally acknowledged as the preferred method for treating substantial coronary artery blockages. The New Jersey state regulation that currently prohibits elective angioplasty in hospitals that do not have on-site coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery back-up is one such regulation which many medical and healthcare professionals believe is out of date and does not take into account recent clinical advances. 

A demonstration project is being conducted by the Cardiovascular Patient Outcomes Research Team (C-PORT-E) from Johns Hopkins University to compare the outcomes of patients treated with a life-saving procedure called elective angioplasty at hospitals with cardiac surgery on-site versus hospitals that have off-site cardiac surgery back-up. In 2004, 18 New Jersey community hospitals applied to the State Department of Health and Senior Services (NJDHSS) for participation in this important demonstration project and, after a rigorous year-long review of those applications, NJDHSS ultimately granted approval to nine hospitals.  NJDHSS has taken steps to ensure that hospitals that participate in the elective angioplasty demonstration project comply with strict rules that ensure patient safety. All have participated in the study since the spring of 2006.

Increasing the number of sites allowed to perform elective angioplasty provides the opportunity for earlier, more efficient treatment and lets patients remain in the continuous care of their trusted primary care physician and cardiologist.

NJDHSS has proposed new regulations to permit the nine hospitals to proceed with participation in this important demonstration project. The state Department acted in response to a May 31, 2007 New Jersey Supreme Court decision requiring the adoption of such regulations.

The nine New Jersey hospitals participating in this demonstration project believe that the study should be permitted to go forward and they support the Department’s proposed regulations.