Health Center receives high scores for cardiac care

Nearly every patient admitted to John Dempsey Hospital for heart attack or heart failure receives the correct medical evaluation and treatment, according to the most recent Hospital Performance Comparisons released recently by the state Department of Public Health.

Patients received the correct care 100 percent of the time on seven out of 10 treatments evaluated by the state. These include, for instance, receiving aspirin on arrival, being given an ACE inhibitor when discharged, and receiving information on stopping smoking. In all but one case, the Health Center scores exceed both state and national medians, the report says.

“The high scores are the result, in part, of our emphasis on the fundamentals of good medicine – that is, knowing what works based on research, educating all involved diligently, and then reminding and seeing to it that all practice these fundamentals,” says Dr. Bruce Liang, director of the center.

Patient safety rounds ensure systematic review of the non-surgical patients’ care and treatment. “Three times a week, we bring together the attending physicians, residents, nursing staff, social worker, and discharge planners,” says Dr. Mark Metersky, professor of medicine, who helped develop the rounds. “We talk about the needs of each patient and review the treatment to make sure it is appropriate and complete.”

The Calhoun Cardiology Center and the Continuing Medical Education Office of the School of Medicine also jointly sponsor a series of cardiovascular symposia, conferences, and Grand Rounds, which “facilitate the educational effort at implementing the measures needed to achieve these quality outcomes,” says Liang.