Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories: Should Every Hospital Have One?

It is obvious that times have changed. Cardiac catheterization laboratories are everywhere. The concerns that must be addressed continually are: 1. Patient safety and quality of patient care. 2. Access to emergency hospitalization. 3. The overseeing of these laboratories. 4. Physician conflict of interest. 5. Need for the laboratory in the region In order to add a new cardiac catheterization laboratory to any region, patient need must be documented. Patient need is the only justification for the development of a new laboratory. I fail to understand how the continuing development of new laboratories will decrease costs, and am concerned that more catheterization laboratories will mean more studies of patients with borderline indications for the procedure.