The ACC/AHA 2008 Task Force on Performance Measures' Statement on Performance Measurement and Reperfusion Therapy will webpost on Monday, November 10 at 2 pm ET. The statement clarifies key issues in the measurement of reperfusion therapy for patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction.
The use of reperfusion therapy, drugs or procedures that restore blood flow to the heart during a heart attack, is one of the most powerful interventions available to improve a patient's likelihood of survival. While the appropriate and timely use of reperfusion therapy has improved substantially over the past decade, significant gaps in the quality of this important process of care persist. Proper measurement is critical to the assessment of hospital and health system performance and to identify targets for quality improvement.
This document provides a perspective on the evolution of the current measures, a justification for the approach and suggests additional measures needed to provide a more comprehensive assessment of care.
The document acknowledges the remaining controversy about the inclusion and exclusion criteria for these measures, and the determination of when measurement stops. Considerations in choosing how to construct the measure are discussed and specific recommendations are made to strengthen the current approach.
The major points addressed in this document include:
Journal of the American College of Cardiology