|
The American College
of Cardiology and
Partners Launch National Alliance
|
 |
November 13, 2006 -- CHICAGO -
The American College of Cardiology (ACC), together with the American
Heart Association (AHA) and other key national healthcare organizations,
announces the launch of its latest quality campaign, “Door
to Balloon (D2B): An Alliance for Quality.” A Guidelines
Applied in Practice (GAP) Program, the D2B campaign is aimed at
improving the timeliness of lifesaving therapy for patients with
heart attacks at the nation’s hospitals that perform emergency
angioplasty.
Door-to-balloon time refers to the interval
between arrival at the hospital and the opening of a blocked artery
with an angioplasty balloon. Patients who receive prompt treatment
are more likely to survive a common type of heart attack called ST-elevation
myocardial infarction (STEMI).
Previously published guidelines developed by
the ACC and the AHA recommend that hospitals treating STEMI patients
with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) should reliably achieve
a door-to-balloon time of 90 minutes or less. However, accomplishing
this level of performance is an organizational challenge and many patients
are not treated within the guideline recommendation. Thus, improving
timeliness of treatment represents an important opportunity to improve
the quality of patient care.
“The D2B campaign provides a great way
for the nation’s hospitals to come together and make a promise
to their patients that they will deliver rapid care and eliminate needless
delays,” says Harlan M. Krumholz, M.D., S.M., F.A.C.C., chair
of the D2B Working Group. “In essence, by working together, we
can make what is currently extraordinary performance, achieved by only
a few hospitals, something that is routine and ordinary in clinical
practice, ensuring that patients across the country with STEMI receive
the proper treatment
that they need.”
Dr. Krumholz and a multidisciplinary team conducted
a study funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute in which
365 hospitals were surveyed to identify strategies that were significantly
associated with a faster door-to-balloon time. Data from this study
will be simultaneously presented on Monday, November 13 at AHA’s
Annual Scientific Sessions in Chicago and published in the New England
Journal of Medicine.
“ The introduction of this new campaign
is a giant step toward increasing the quality of patient care for heart
attack patients,” said Raymond Gibbons, M.D., F.A.C.C., president
of the American Heart Association. “It will help these hospitals
to deliver the best possible care to every patient.”
Several evidence-based strategies have been
identified to assist hospitals in reducing their door-to-balloon
times. The strategies involve multiple departments and require
a systems approach. They include:
- The emergency medicine physicians activate
the catheterization laboratory (cath lab)
- A single call activates the cath lab
- The cath lab team arrives and is ready
within 20-30 minutes
- Real-time data feedback in the emergency
department and the cath lab
- Senior management commitment
- Team-based approach
Over the coming months, participating hospitals
will receive an implementation manual and tool kit, as well as
information on how to best construct the team needed to implement
the changes; what the roles and responsibilities of each member
should be; and how to identify the point person for the project
within each primary PCI hospital.
An update on the campaign will be given at
the ACC’s Annual Meeting, ACC.07, in New Orleans from March
24-27, 2007.
The American College of Cardiology is leading
the way to optimal cardiovascular care and disease prevention.
The College is a 34,000-member nonprofit medical society and bestows
the credential Fellow of the American College of Cardiology upon
physicians who meet its stringent qualifications. The College is
a leader in the formulation of health policy, standards and guidelines,
and is a staunch supporter of cardiovascular research. The ACC
provides professional education and operates national registries
for the measurement and improvement of quality care.
|
