The topics in this month’s issue of Endovascular Today run the gamut of office-based practice to provide an entryway for those considering this increasingly popular practice model, as well as those who are considering changes to their existing practices. The current trends in technology, reimbursement, and practice politics could fill many pages, and we have invited a group of physicians who have successfully navigated this landscape to share insights gained in their experiences to date.

Despite the increasing popularity of office-based endovascular practices, there is little published literature about the safety and feasibility of these procedures to date. Dr. Jain and his colleagues open our feature by sharing lessons learned from their own 6-year experience of vascular interventions outside of the hospital setting. Dr. Milner, along with Ravi Veeraswamy, MD, addresses the lack of attention that academic centers have traditionally given these types of practices, and explores whether that may be changing. Next, Jeffrey Carr, MD, President of the recently launched Outpatient Endovascular and Interventional Society, details the society’s goals of voicing the needs of outpatient centers, a group that previously lacked a formal platform.

Perhaps the biggest challenge in pursuing an office-based lab is the sizeable capital investment. Sam Ahn, MD, FACS, MBA, and Hwa Kho, PhD, MBA, give an introduction to the range of financial components that must be considered before taking the plunge. Deepak G. Nair, MD, weighs out the pros and cons of leasing versus owning a practice.

In our “Ask the Experts” feature, we ask a panel of physicians two questions: ”What is one thing you have learned that you wish you knew the day you began planning your outpatient practice?” and “What trends in outpatient vascular care are most concerning and encouraging to you?”

Beyond the initial acquisition of the lab, Wael Elseaidy, PhD, and Michael Thompson of Medstreaming, a practice management and EMR company, explain the need for accurate tracking of practice analytics. Joseph Coatti, MD, outlines the nuances of device and equipment selection in the office-based setting.

In an interview with Michael D. Dake, MD, we discuss the feasibility of EVAR as an outpatient procedure. Kathy Krol, MD, tailors her monthly coding column to our cover focus with a look at the ever-changing reimbursement models for office-based medicine.

Finally, we close the issue with an interview with Mark J. Garcia, MD, MS, FSIR, who talks about a variety of venous topics, including educating physicians about chronic DVT treatment, diagnosing compression syndromes, and the future of PTS management.

We hope you enjoy this unique issue of Endovascular Today, and we invite you to share your thoughts on how we can expand our coverage of office-based interventions at evteditorial@bmctoday.com.

Ross Milner, MD

Krishna M. Jain, MD

Guest Chief Medical Editors