Office-Based Women's Heart Institute
"Women's Health Care" has been the target of tremendous marketing by hospitals and medical centers for the past several years. Women use more medical services than men, especially relating to reproductive health. Programs aimed at establishing a relationship between a woman and a hospital become major profit centers for the hospital. They know that once a women starts to have confidence in a program, no matter how small or specialized, it is then easier to encourage her to have many other referrals and services at the same hospital regardless of their convenience, quality and cost-effectiveness. While this is beneficial to the hospital, those programs that push hospital-based referrals and studies are not always in a women's best interest.
This is why our Women's Heart Institute was established as an office-based program, not affiliated with any one hospital. All of your records are kept here, not scattered throughout multiple hospital departments. Your physician is aware of every referral made, every study ordered and every test result, regardless of where it is done. Referrals to specialists will include a summary of your medical history and all pertinent test results so important issues are not missed and duplication is avoided. By not having a fixed association with only one facility, you are able to be referred to the most appropriate specialists and have tests done at the most convenient location, where high quality and cost effectiveness can be looked at objectively.
Last updated October 17, 2002