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Shifts in Cardiology Treatment
May 2016
The shift from inpatient to outpatient care is increasing as hospitals transition from volume to value. A specific shift is seen in interventional cardiology treatment (cardiac catheterization, intracoronary stents, and percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasties [PTCA]), which is moving from an inpatient hospital to outpatient hospital setting. Preliminary data show that most interventional cardiology procedures will soon be performed in the hospital outpatient setting. It will be important for hospitals to consider future demand and volume for interventional cardiology services; capacity for an increase in hospital outpatient volume; and staffing and operational implications.
The annual Truven Health AnalyticsTM 100 Top Hospitals® identifies U.S. hospitals with the best overall performance across multiple organizational metrics, including clinical, operational, and financial. The ability of some hospitals to adapt as the industry is changing demonstrates leadership as the winners set the standards their peers seek to achieve. The study revealed that the nation’s best hospitals had a lower mortality index, considering patient severity; had fewer patient complications; followed accepted care protocols; had lower 30-day mortality and 30-day readmission rates; sent patients home sooner; provided more timely emergency care; kept expenses low, both in-hospital and through the aftercare process; and scored better on patient surveys of hospital experience.
Truven Health Analytics™ evaluated the extent to which community need— a measure of the underlying economic and social factors that affect the overall health of a community, including income, cultural/language barriers, education, insurance and housing—is associated with elevated rates of preventable hospitalizations or an increased risk of hospitalization believed to be preventable with quality ambulatory care. The results of this investigation reveal a modest but statistically significant association between community need and an increased risk of hospitalizations that are believed to be preventable with good-quality ambulatory care.
This Fact File examines trends in the detection and treatment of acute myocardial infarctions, or heart attacks, in two distinct groups:
STEMI—ST segment elevation myocardial infarction, with the ST segment referring to a specific part of an electrocardiogram tracing. In STEMI, the coronary artery is completely blocked and cardiac muscle dies. NSTEMI—Non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction. In NSTEMI, a coronary artery is partially blocked.
