New Study Identifies Hospital Strategies for Reducing Heart Attack Mortality
<p>If hospitals across the country adopted a set of low-risk, low-cost strategies for reducing deaths from heart attack, thousands of lives could be saved annually, according to <a href="/publications/journal-article/2012/may/hospital-strategies-reducing-risk-standardized-mortality">new research published today</a> in <em>Annals of Internal Medicine</em>.</p><p>Deaths from heart attack have decreased significantly over the past decade, but there is still substantial variation across U.S. hospitals in the number of patients who die within 30 days of admission. The new Commonwealth Fund–supported study, conducted by Elizabeth Bradley, Ph.D., and colleagues, shows that communication and problem-solving can play an important role in limiting these deaths. Among the strategies they identify are holding monthly meetings between hospital clinicians and emergency medical services to review cases, always having a cardiologist on site, and fostering an environment that encourages creative problem-solving.</p>
<p>Visit <a href="/publications/journal-article/2012/may/hospital-strategies-reducing-risk-standardized-mortality">commonwealthfund.org</a> to learn more.</p>
<div><br />
</div>