STEMI Notification
Save Minutes. Save Muscle. Save Money.
BACKGROUND
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the most common type of heart disease, killing more than 370,000 people annually. (1) Patients with chest pain or symptoms of acute ischemic cardiac disease require rapid assessment and treatment. Involving an experienced cardiologist as soon as possible to assess ECG findings can determine if intervention is necessary and, if so, reduce the time to intervene. This, in turn, can lower morbidity and mortality. In short: saving time saves heart muscle.
(1) CDC, NCHS. Underlying Cause of Death 1999-2013 on CDC WONDER Online Database, released 2015. Data are from the Multiple Cause of Death Files, 1999-2013, as compiled from data provided by the 57 vital statistics jurisdictions through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program. Accessed Feb. 3, 2015.
• CDC information on Coronary Heart Disease• CDC WONDER DatabasePROBLEM
Access to the ECG and continuous rhythm strip is typically limited to those who are present at the patient’s bedside. This can lead to unnecessary cath lab activations, which cost money and employee time. Unnecessary activation carries high unreimbursed costs in the U.S. (1) Although hospitals often target an over-activation rate of eight to14 percent, many report actual rates as high as 60 percent. (2),(3)
Some current workflow practices are used frequently to address existing workflow inefficiencies, despite the fact that these practices are clear HIPAA violations - such as sending a non-encrypted photo of the ECG from one provider to another.
(1) Analysis of Cath Lab Costs
• False activation of the cardiac catheterization laboratory...(2) J. Lee Garvey, Lisa Monk, Christopher B. Granger, Jonathan R. Studnek, Mayme Lou Roettig, Claire C. Corbett and James G. Jollis. Rates of Cardiac Catheterization Cancelation for ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction After Activation by Emergency Medical Services or Emergency Physicians Circulation. 2012.125:308-313.
(3) Larson D, Menssen K, Sharkey S, Duval S, Schwartz R, Harris J, Meland J, Unger B, Henry T. “False-Positive” Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory Activation among Patients with Suspected ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction. JAMA, December 19, 2007—Vol 298, No. 23.
SOLUTION
AirStrip provides live ECG access on mobile devices, laptops and desktops. Putting the right data in the right hands at the right time allows the entire clinical care team - including cardiologists and the on-call STEMI team - to have the same access to vital patient information, regardless of location, to support faster, more informed decision-making.
BENEFITS
- The clinical care team can make a timely and accurate diagnosis of myocardial infarction while reducing the time to treatment and reducing false cath lab activations.
- Faster, more informed diagnosis contributes to improved patient outcomes and reduces the amount of muscle damage that occurs during the acute phase of the STEMI event.
- Addresses coronary heart disease cost, which drives 17 percent of healthcare spending in the U.S. and is projected to reach $818 billion by 2030.
