ABSTRACT
With recent advances in the field of cardiovascular medicine, cardiac catheterization has become one of the most common invasive procedures performed in the United States. The use of health information technology (HIT) has revolutionized the way medicine is practiced. Both people within and outside the health care system see HIT as a key component in improving the efficacy, quality, and safety of health care delivery. The process of structured reporting emphasizes the importance of not only standard formats of reports, but also integration of data acquisition with workflow to maximize the accuracy, completeness, and efficiency of procedural report generation. All relevant events in the catheterization laboratory are to be captured in a time-stamped log, typically via the hemodynamic monitoring system of the laboratory. Professional societies in the field of cardiovascular medicine play a critical role in defining and establishing guidelines and performance metrics for various cardiovascular procedures. Comprising voluntary representatives, each society has the responsibility of establishing standards.
