Cardiovascular Business - January/February 2008 - (Page 9)

the it angle IT is an essential ingredient in the robust evidence-based medicine program. Alamance Regional Medical Center is a state-ofthe-art community hospital in Burlington, N.C. The medical center recently won a Premier Quality Award for its AMI treatment program. The “secret” to the hospital’s success is IT. “It’s a challenge to adhere to CMS guidelines, implement best practices and improve patient care,” admits Ken Fath, MD, medical director of performance improvement and medical informatics. “We’ve acquired and leveraged IT to assist with our evidencebased medicine program.” The hospital has tapped into Eclipsys Corporation Sunrise Clinical Manager to achieve 100 percent electronic results, 88 percent CPOE and 70 percent electronic documentation. “These processes allow us to create order sets based on evidence-based medicine to guide physicians to best practices,” states Fath. For example, a congestive heart failure order set prompts specific orders and alerts physicians to any contraindications. The results of the electronic approach are impressive. Alamance Regional Medical Center increased its compliance with beta blockers and aspirin at AMI admission and discharge from 45 to 50 percent to 99 percent in less than a year. The implementation of rapid cardiac evaluation in the ER helped the center slash its door-to-discharge or door-to-bed time from 80 minutes to 35 to 40 minutes. To achieve rapid door-to-bed time, the medical center uses electronic order sets and a new ER workflow that places a physician in the triage area. The new frontline physician can initiate the cardiac care process by placing lab and imaging orders. The cardiology department has realized benefits beyond compliance and patient care. “We’ve eliminated the retrospective review of stacks of paper after discharge and improved tracking,” says Fath. On the financial and workflow fronts, the electronic system helps reduce duplication of services and links tests to appropriate preps to minimize cancellations. The medical center continues to assess its progress and expects to see shorter lengths of stay, increased productivity and improved customer service ratings as a results of its commitment to IT and evidencebased medicine. Electronic medical records can help facilities establish consistent processes that lead to better patient care and a healthy bottom line. advice from the trenches → Quality initiatives are a team sport, says Starling. “Everyone plays, and everyone is responsible.” Translation? Deploy a facility team with broad representation. At the same time, hold all clinical leaders responsible for the quality of patient care, says Starling. → Evidence-based medicine transcends technology, says Fath. “It’s a workflow change. Make sure the culture is ready for it.” Sites can secure buy-in from clinical staff by educating them about improvements in efficiency and clinical care enabled by a strong evidence-based medicine program. the big picture Evidence-based medicine provides a path to the ideal practice of medicine. By implementing processes to standardize patient care and ensure patients receive clinically-validated interventions, hospitals adhere to their core mission. The research shows evidencebased measures make a difference for cardiac patients, enabling physicians to initiate timelier treatment via reduced door-to-balloon time and standard order sets, as well as reduced mortality via compliance with CMS AMI metrics. Evidence-based medicine requires a strong commitment from administrative and clinical leaders, and IT can lend a much needed helping hand. CardiovascularBusiness.com Cardiovascular Business http://CardiovascularBusiness.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Cardiovascular Business - January/February 2008

Cardiovascular Business - January/February 2008 Contents The Ticker: Quality Pays in Several Ways Cover Story: The Proof: Why Evidence-based Medicine Improves Cardiac Care Clinical Study Digest: Co-payments and Cath Labs Cardiac PET/CT Fills in Gaps Left by SPECT Tapping into IT to Improve the Office-Based Practice SPECT–Proving Its Value Cardiac Images in the EMR: Just a Click Away The Top 20 Ways to Market Your Cardiac CTA Practice The Big Picture: Medical Displays for Cardiac Images Statins Work But Pharmacoeconomic Caveats Abound Driving Data Protection: Opting for Storage On- or Offsite News & Views Calendar Reader’s Resource

Cardiovascular Business - January/February 2008

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