Cardiology Consultants of Philadelphia has joined a national practice, Cardiovascular Logistics

Cardiology Consultants of Philadelphia, the largest independent cardiology group in the region, has joined Cardiovascular Logistics, a national practice based in Louisiana, the two companies announced Monday.

Cardiology Consultants, known as CCP, is the fifth physician group to join Cardiovascular Logistics (CVL) since it was formed in early 2023. The addition of CCP’s 90 cardiologists and 50 advanced practice clinicians in Southeastern Pennsylvania will give Cardiovascular Logistics 440 providers.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“We’re proud to join forces with CVL and to be part of a platform that puts patients and quality care first while investing in innovation,” Mark Victor, a cardiologist who is also CCP’s chief executive, said in a news release.

“This partnership allows us to preserve our independence while gaining access to the resources and infrastructure needed to grow and continue leading the field of cardiovascular medicine,” he said.

Victor said in an interview Sunday that CCP started with four cardiologists in the 1990s and wanted to keep growing. The group looked at 11 cardiology companies before deciding to join Cardiovascular Logistics. “We thought we were the most closely aligned,” Victor said.

Victor now becomes president of the Mid-Atlantic region of Cardiovascular Logistics. CCP is keeping its name. The practice has 30 locations locally.

Lee Equity Partners, a New York investment firm, and Cardiovascular Institute of the South, which is based in Houma, La., started Cardiovascular Logistics in Feb. 2023. The practice is majority-owned by physicians, Victor said.

David Konur, CVL’s chief executive, said in an interview last year on the Cardiac Wire Show that the company had rejected many of the practices it had looked at as potential partners during its first year.

The Philadelphia group, which CVL described as the largest independent cardiology group in the nation, had what the company is looking for.

“CCP is a clinical and operational leader in its region, and our partnership reflects a shared commitment to fundamentally changing how cardiovascular care is delivered in the United States,” Konur said.

CVL noted that Cardiology Consultants was involved in advance payment models that stress quality of care instead of the volume of procedures that can be billed and emphasizes timely access to appointments.

Victor told a story about friend who tried this month to get a cardiology appointment for a type of atrial fibrillation with one of the big academic health systems in the Philadelphia area. They offered him one in mid-August, Victor said, noting that he felt the concern required more urgent medical attention.

“If you can wait till August, chances are you don’t need a cardiologist or you may be in the ER long before August,” he said.