Patricia L. Baker

Taking the National Guideline for Care of Acute Myocardial Infarction to the Bedside: Developing the Guideline Applied in Practice (GAP) Initiative in southeast Michigan

BACKGROUND The Guideline Applied in Practice (GAP) program was developed in 2000 to improve the quality of care by improving adherence to clinical practice guidelines. For the first GAP project, the American College of Cardiology (ACC) partnered with the Southeast Michigan Quality Forum Cardiovascular Subgroup and the Michigan Peer Review Organization (MPRO) to develop interventions that might facilitate the use of the ACC/AHA Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) guideline in the practice setting. Ten Michigan hospitals participated in implementing the project, which began in March 2000. DESIGNING THE PROJECT The project developed a multifaceted intervention aimed at key players in the care delivery triangle: the physician, nurse, and patient. Intervention components included a project kick-off presentation and dinner, creation and implementation of a customized tool kit, identification and assignment of local nurse and physician opinion leaders, grand rounds site visits, and measurement before and after the intervention. IMPLEMENTING THE PROJECT The GAP project experience suggests that hospitals are enthusiastic about partnering with ACC to improve quality of care; partners can work together to develop a program for guideline implementation; rapid-cycle implementation is possible with the GAP model; guidelines and quality indicators for AMI are well accepted; and hospitals can adapt the national guideline for care into usable tools focused on physicians, nurses, and patients. DISCUSSION Important structure and process changes--both of which are required for successful QI efforts--have been demonstrated in this project. Ultimately, the failure or success of this initiative will depend on an indication that the demonstrated improvement in the quality indicators is sustained over time.

Improved Quality of Stroke Care for Hospitalized Medicare Beneficiaries in Michigan

Background and Purpose— We reported previously that acute ischemic stroke patients encountered delays in obtaining neuroimaging and receiving thrombolysis, and that deep venous thrombosis prophylaxis was used only in a minority of eligible patients. We investigated whether these and other measures improved after a quality improvement initiative. Methods— Medicare fee-for-service ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack discharges in 136 acute care hospitals in Michigan were identified by International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modification codes. Only patients with stroke symptoms persisting for >1 hour and present on arrival were included in the analysis. Seven quality indicators were abstracted from chart review at baseline (discharges between July 1, 1998, and June 30, 1999) and at remeasurement (discharges between January 1, 2001, and June 30, 2001) after an intensive quality improvement initiative throughout Michigan hospitals. Quality indicators were compared at baseline and remeasurement. Results— Indicators of care were determined in 5146 patients at baseline and 4980 patients on remeasurement. Four quality-of-care indicators showed significant improvement on remeasurement: antithrombotic prescribed at discharge (81.9 baseline versus 83.7% remeasurement; P=0.026), avoidance of sublingual nifedipine in patients with acute ischemic stroke (97.1 versus 99.7%; P<0.0001), documentation of a computed tomography (CT)/MRI during hospitalization (98.0 versus 99.1%; P=0.024), and appropriate deep venous thrombosis prophylaxis (13.8 versus 26.9%; P<0.0001). Time to CT/MRI did not significantly change, but time to thrombolysis improved (113 versus 88.5 minutes; P=0.045). Conclusions— Improvement occurred in several indicators of quality of care in Michigan Medicare beneficiaries presenting with acute stroke symptoms.

Acute Ischemic Stroke in Hospitalized Medicare Patients: Evaluation and Treatment

Background and Purpose— This study describes several quality indicators of care in hospitalized stroke patients in Michigan from 1998 to 1999. Summary of Report— Median times from admission to head CT/MRI (89.5 minutes) and thrombolysis (113 minutes) exceeded recommended guidelines. Deep venous thrombosis prophylaxis was used in only 13.8% of eligible patients. Conclusions— Timing for brain imaging and acute ischemic stroke symptom onset need to be better documented, along with more provider education for routine deep venous thrombosis prophylaxis.