For 25 years SA Heart has been at the forefront of advances in cardiology, delivering world class care to South Australians.
When SA Heart was established in 1984 it was originally known as Cardiac Diagnostic. By 2005 it was apparent that a more contemporary identity would better communicate our purpose and thus we became known as SA Heart.
Our 20 cardiologists are at the forefront of cardiac knowledge. Whether it is through advanced training overseas in highly specialised aspects of cardiology, or through regular attendance at national and overseas conferences to stay abreast of the latest developments, patients and their referring medical practitioners have the peace of mind knowing that the cardiology team at SA Heart will deliver the best cardiac care possible. The strong team ethos means that SA Heart specialists can immediately seek second opinions from colleagues whose combined expertise covers all the sub specialties with in cardiology.
To be first choice in cardiology also requires substantial investment in equipment and systems to provide superior patient care. SA Heart continually invests to ensure that patients have access to the best diagnostic equipment available. For example, we were recently one of the first to introduce 3D echocardiography machines, a major but expensive diagnostic advance. Sophisticated equipment of this kind requires highly trained staff. Echocardiographers for example complete a postgraduate Diploma in Medical Ultrasound and undergo continuous internal and external professional education throughout their careers.
SA Heart has been a pacesetter in staff development which has helped foster a culture at SA Heart where everyone is committed to being first choice in cardiology. As a result there is low staff turnover and thus high retention of in-house skills. This is as true of cardiac technicians as it is of our reception, administrative and management personnel. This means that things run smoothly when patients come to SA Heart. Our patients appreciate the welcoming smiles and the fact that our staff treat everyone with care and understanding.
"Just What the Doctor Ordered", The Australian, October 7 2008
Over 95% of all patient records have been converted into secure electronic format to provide significant benefits to patients and their referring doctors. Because our cardiologists can access patient records at any clinic, not just the clinic where under a paper based system the patient record would reside, they can immediately answer queries from patients and other doctors. The network we have built to connect all our clinics also extends to our cardiologists’ homes, facilitating exceptional after hours care. Paper records can be lost in transit whereas our electronic medical records have multiple layers of back up, with all hard copy material housed in off site purpose built archive facilities.
SA Heart has also invested in providing patients with an exceptionally wide choice of clinic locations. In the Adelaide metropolitan area we have five clinics that are open all day Monday to Friday. All tests, apart from those which can only be performed in hospital, are provided at each of these “flagship”clinics. We provide a selected range of key services in the outer metropolitan and hills areas. Outreach services provided by our visiting cardiologists provide an important outreach service to regional SA in Berri, Mt Gambier and Yankalilla.
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