St. John Hospital & Medical Center in Detroit aims to cut the time it takes to assess heart attack patients by providing cardiologists with small computers they can use to read heart test information from home, the Detroit Free Press reports.
According to national guidelines, patients with heart attack symptoms should be assessed within 90 minutes to determine whether they need angioplasty. However, only one in five hospitals meet that standard, a report by the University of Michigan Health System team published in the Nov. 16 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine found.
A major treatment barrier is the difficulty in having cardiologists available at all times to read tests such as electrocardiograms, the Free Press reports.
St. John has enacted several measures to reach the 90 minute goal, including the purchase of eight small computers, which cost a total of about $8,000. Emergency department physicians send EKG and other patient information to on-call cardiologists. St. John estimates that it has saved $8.5 million from its quality improvement programs (Anstett, Detroit Free Press, 1/16).