A quality success story! A new study published this week in Circulation shows that median door-to-balloon (D2B) times for patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention following an acute myocardial infarction have declined from 94 minutes in 2005 to 64 minutes in 2010. The improvements represent a more than 30 percent decline in D2B times based on Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services data from Jan. 1, 2005, to Sept. 30, 2010. Read the journal scan!
The study highlights the important role that ACC's D2B Alliance had on improving times by promoting the integration of proven strategies into practice. Launched in 2006, the D2B Alliance has grown to include more than 1,000 hospitals (including several internationally). ACC Chapters across the country played a critical role in garnering hospital participation in the program. According to the paper authors, the improvement in D2B times "demonstrates the results that can be produced by collaboration among health care professionals, hospitals, federal research agencies, and national organizations interested in patient care toward the achievement of a shared goal." Read a special ACC in Touch Blog post on this topic by study author Harlan Krumholz, MD, FACC.
The authors go on to highlight that the collaboration should serve as a template for future quality efforts. For example, the level of care demonstrated by the D2B study's findings suggest that registry participation combined with dedication to programs like D2B leads to substantial improvements in the quality of care delivered. By measuring patient care in an appropriate and actionable way, registries bring to light the invaluable improvements being made by physicians and clinical care teams. Your ACC will be highlighting this point in its advocacy efforts, particularly during Legislative Conference in September.
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