PMID- 22043588
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20120103
LR  - 20111102
IS  - 1044-9167 (Print)
IS  - 1044-9167 (Linking)
VI  - 23
IP  - 11
DP  - 2011 Nov
TI  - Continuous quality improvement process pin-points delays, speeds STEMI patients 
      to life-saving treatment.
PG  - 121-4
AB  - Using a multidisciplinary team approach, the University of California, San Diego, 
      Health System has been able to significantly reduce average door-to-balloon 
      angioplasty times for patients with the most severe form of heart attacks, 
      beating national recommendations by more than a third. The multidisciplinary team 
      meets monthly to review all cases involving patients with ST-segment-elevation 
      myocardial infarctions (STEMI) to see where process improvements can be made. 
      Using this continuous quality improvement (CQI) process, the health system has 
      reduced average door-to-balloon times from 120 minutes to less than 60 minutes, 
      and administrators are now aiming for further progress. Among the improvements 
      instituted by the multidisciplinary team are the implementation of a "greeter" 
      with enough clinical expertise to quickly pick up on potential STEMI heart 
      attacks as soon as patients walk into the ED, and the purchase of an 
      electrocardiogram (EKG) machine so that evaluations can be done in the triage 
      area. ED staff have prepared "STEMI" packets, including items such as special IV 
      tubing and disposable leads, so that patients headed for the catheterization 
      laboratory are prepared to undergo the procedure soon after arrival. All the 
      clocks and devices used in the ED are synchronized so that analysts can later 
      review how long it took to complete each step of the care process. Points of 
      delay can then be targeted for improvement.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PL  - United States
TA  - ED Manag
JT  - ED management : the monthly update on emergency department management
JID - 9425690
MH  - California
MH  - Emergency Service, Hospital/standards
MH  - Humans
MH  - Myocardial Infarction/*therapy
MH  - Time Factors
MH  - Total Quality Management/*organization & administration
EDAT- 2011/11/03 06:00
MHDA- 2012/01/04 06:00
CRDT- 2011/11/03 06:00
PHST- 2011/11/03 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2011/11/03 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2012/01/04 06:00 [medline]
PST - ppublish
SO  - ED Manag. 2011 Nov;23(11):121-4.