MDNews - Central New York

cover feAture meet the cardiologists JAMAL J. AHMED, MD, FACC MEDICAL SCHOOL: Khyber Medical College, Pakistan RESIDENCY: university of Connecticut FELLOwSHIPS: university of South Alabama, George Washington university "electrophysiology is one of the most rapidly developing specialties in cardiology. There are not many cures available in cardiology, but in electrophysiology you can actually cure a condition. The satisfaction of providing Jamal J. Ahmed, MD, FACC a real solution is what interested me in electrophysiology." TRAIAN M. ANGHEL, MD, FACC MEDICAL SCHOOL: Carol Davila university, Romania RESIDENCY: upstate university Hospital FELLOwSHIPS: institute of Cardiac Research, Syracuse; university of illinois at Chicago; Georgetown university/Washington Hospital Center "At The Heart Group, we like to place as few layers as possible between ourselves and our patients. Patients see us in person when they visit the office, and we serve as their physicians when they are admitted to any of the area hospitals. We don't even have an answering service; all patients can reach us on our cell phones, day or night. Having embraced this philosophy for years, i wouldn't have it any other way." Traian M. Anghel, MD, FACC "Every hospital we work with has outstanding nurses and technicians," he says. "They are all excellent partners." The hospitals have equal admiration for The Heart Group. Grant Kelley, MD, hospitalist with St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center, praises the dedication and diagnostic skill displayed by Drs. Ahmed and Anghel. "As hospitalists at a tertiary care center, we care for patients admitted to the hospital with acute or emergent illness, including many patients with cardiac disease," he says. "We have an excellent relationship with the physicians from The Heart Group. They perform invasive cardiac procedures at St. Joseph's; they are willing to come in at any hour of the day or night to deal with a difficult-to-control arrhythmia or to install The Heart Group of Syracuse office team (from left): Teresa Wiers, LPN; Lori Horning, LPN, Practice Manager; Rabeea Rehman, MD (resident); Traian M. Anghel, MD; Carrie Friedel; and Jamal J. Ahmed, MD 12 | Central New York MD News ■ MDNEwS.COM a temporary or permanent pacemaker. "Drs. Anghel and Ahmed are outstanding physicians. They are dedicated to their patients and willing to help with all types of cardiac calls, from consults and echocardiograms to congestive heart failure and acute coronary events. In the acute setting, a physician has to be good at figuring out multifactoral problems — something the physicians of The Heart Group are skilled at doing." Wolford adds: "These physicians always serve as the attending physicians for their patients if they are admitted to the hospital. They really take time to explain the procedures, which is reassuring for patients and their families." And Tetrault says of The Heart Group physicians: "They are wonderful to work with. They always earn very positive responses on patient satisfaction surveys, which is gratifying for us as well." Outside the hospital setting, physicians with The Heart Group place a premium on being available to patients, whether in person or via leading-edge technology. "We can monitor every type of implantable cardiac device from our office," Dr. Ahmed says. "Many facilities cannot check patients from home, but we can follow up with any device from any manufacturer. If something goes wrong, we receive a notification. Even if patients are on vacation or business travel, they can take their monitors with them and the devices will communicate with us. For that reason, patients from as far away as Utica, Ithaca and the 'North Country' and patients who live for more than half the year down in Florida choose us as their cardiac care providers." Additionally, he notes, signals from the devices automatically populate patients' electronic health records, further streamlining care. "We use a charting system that allows patients to view their records," Dr. Ahmed says, "including their medication lists and appointments, as well as laboratory results once we have reviewed them." "We follow our patients closely after a procedure; they can call us on our cell phones, and I think they find that convenient. I do, for sure, for the sake of efficient communication," Dr. Anghel says. "They know they can see us face to face when they schedule office visits. We also make ourselves accessible to referring physicians after patients return to them, consulting with other cardiologists as well as primary care providers and partnering with them on patient care." To refer a patient to The Heart Group of Syracuse, please call 315-277-2707. ■

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