Researchers found five strategies may help hospitals improve 30-day mortality rates for heart attack patients, according to a Cardiovascular Business report.
For their study, researchers randomly selected acute-care hospitals that publicly reported acute myocardial infarction discharge data to CMS from July 2005 through June 2008 and hospitals included in the 2008 American Hospital Association survey. A majority (91 percent) of 590 hospitals agreed to participate. A review of these hospitals' practices revealed five common strategies may help lower 30-day risk-standardized mortality rates:
1. Meetings among hospital physicians and the staff who transported patients to the hospital to review AMI care
2. Having cardiologists always on site
3. Encouraging physicians to creatively solve problems
4. Pharmacist rounding on heart attack patients
5. Having a nurse-physicians team or only a physician as champion
Researchers found the 1.1 percent of hospitals that implemented all five strategies had an average 14.3 percent 30-day risk-standardized mortality rate. Meanwhile, the majority of hospitals using one to three strategies had an average 15.2 percent to 16 percent 30-day risk-standardized mortality rate. The researchers concluded that while the study results do not indicate any causal relationships, these strategies may help improve outcomes for heart attack patients.
For their study, researchers randomly selected acute-care hospitals that publicly reported acute myocardial infarction discharge data to CMS from July 2005 through June 2008 and hospitals included in the 2008 American Hospital Association survey. A majority (91 percent) of 590 hospitals agreed to participate. A review of these hospitals' practices revealed five common strategies may help lower 30-day risk-standardized mortality rates:
1. Meetings among hospital physicians and the staff who transported patients to the hospital to review AMI care
2. Having cardiologists always on site
3. Encouraging physicians to creatively solve problems
4. Pharmacist rounding on heart attack patients
5. Having a nurse-physicians team or only a physician as champion
Researchers found the 1.1 percent of hospitals that implemented all five strategies had an average 14.3 percent 30-day risk-standardized mortality rate. Meanwhile, the majority of hospitals using one to three strategies had an average 15.2 percent to 16 percent 30-day risk-standardized mortality rate. The researchers concluded that while the study results do not indicate any causal relationships, these strategies may help improve outcomes for heart attack patients.
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