Quality and Outcomes Reports - Herma Heart Center

Subspecialty Clinic Volumes

Why we measure it - We continue to develop subspecialty clinics to meet the needs of our diverse patients. Seeing similar patients on the same day helps organize the clinic and improve efficiency, which leads to lower wait times for patients.

What this means - To improve patient flow and case management in the Herma Heart Center clinic, we created many subspecialty clinics. In addition to those represented in the graph above, the additional clinics we provide include: Marfan Syndrome and Related Connective Tissue Disorders and Adult Congenital Heart Disease. We closed our Preventative clinic in 2010.

About the data - This graph reflects the number of patient visits captured in our billing system under each clinic category in years 2007-2010.

Related dimensions of care:

What we're doing to provide the best care:

• As we continue to grow, the Herma Heart Center is undergoing a Lean process improvement initiative to optimize our patient's satisfaction. Lean is an internationally recognized tool to enhance efficiencies and allow health care providers to focus on quality interactions with their patients.
• The Herma Heart Center clinics and diagnostics area moved to the new tower of Children's Hospital of Wisconsin completed in spring 2009. Patients and families were involved in the design of the new facility to incorporate their needs. This new area has 16 clinic exam rooms, seven echo scanning rooms with a sedation staging area, three exercise/stress labs and a sunny waiting area.
• We offer many outreach facilities and surgical sites to reduce the number of trips many families need to make to our Milwaukee hospital location. Our specialists travel to or are located in several cities throughout Wisconsin and in Vernon Hills, Illinois to provide care close to where our patients live. In addition to the main location in Milwaukee, other clinic locations in Wisconsin are located in New Berlin, Racine, Kenosha, Fond du Lac, Green Bay, and Neenah. We also have an additional surgical location at Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee as well.
• We offer the Family Accommodations Program to help make travel arrangements and coordinate appointments for families traveling to our center from a long distance.

Patients and families:

• If you cannot keep a scheduled appointment, please call Central Scheduling at (877) 607-5280 or (414) 607-5280 as soon as possible to reschedule so another child can be seen.
• Arrive 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment so we can gather needed information from you before you see the doctor.
• Bring the name, address, phone and fax numbers of your primary care and/or referring doctor so we can update them appropriately on your care.
• Bring a full list of the medications your child is taking including over-the-counter medicines such as vitamins and supplements.

Referring physicians:

• Fill out and fax a referral form prior to sending the patient to Children's Hospital for outpatient ancillary services or a specialty clinic visit. 
• Forward any pertinent patient documentation, including test results, to the specialty physician's office prior to the patient's visit.
• Referring physicians can access our specialists for consultation or transport 24 hours a day. Call our physician referral line at (800) 266-0366.  
• Health care providers from outside of our southeastern Wisconsin service area are encouraged to use our web-based
  e-Consult service. This service is available for non-urgent patient cases only and gives providers access to our specialists to review patient cases, obtain medical advice or second opinions, and receive care recommendations for rare symptoms and illnesses.
  e-Consult is not to be used by the general public, parents/guardians or families.
• Care guidelines for medical professionals
• Educational materials
  • Pediatric Rounds
  • Webcasts
• Pocket Directory

If you have questions about this information, email us or call (414) 266-6556.