title: A collaborative project in Connecticut to improve the care of patients with acute myocardial infarction.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  State-based peer review organizations (PROs) and individual hospitals are challenged to achieve their quality improvement (QI) goals with shrinking resources. In 1993-1994 the Connecticut PRO and 15 local hospitals generated a comparative QI database on acute myocardial infarction (AMI) care for 1,202 Medicare and non-Medicare patients discharged in 1992 and 1993.
  
  
  METHODS
  A steering committee composed of hospital and PRO representatives was assembled to provide oversight. PRO staff developed a chart abstraction tool and trained hospital abstractors who collected and submitted data to the PRO for comparative analyses. Written feedback was provided to all hospitals and supplemented with onsite presentations when requested. Each hospital prepared a written QI plan based on its unique data profile.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Opportunities for improvement were identified at all hospitals. The most commonly targeted areas for improvement included the use of thrombolytics at presentation, aspirin at presentation and at discharge, and beta blockers at discharge. Improvement interventions included staff education sessions, development of AMI critical paths and standing orders, and storage of appropriate medications in emergency departments. Self-report data from the hospitals indicate improvements in care.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PROs and hospitals can augment their individual QI activities by working together to share data, resources, and lessons learned. Twenty-three hospitals are now collaborating with the Connecticut PRO on a similarly designed QI project aimed at improving the care of patients hospitalized with atrial fibrillation. This project includes a more formal means of communicating QI interventions.
authors.affiliation: Connecticut Peer Review Organization, Middletown 06457, USA.
authors.forename: T P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Meehan
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Radford
authors.forename: L V
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Vaccarino
authors.forename: L D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Gottlieb
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: McGovern-Hughes
authors.forename: M V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Herman
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Revkin
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Therrien
authors.forename: M K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Petrillo
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Krumholz
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D016507:Cardiology Service, Hospital / Q000592:standards*; D003237:Connecticut; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000628:therapy*; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D011366:Professional Review Organizations; D015912:Thrombolytic Therapy / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013997:Time Factors; D017749:Total Quality Management / Q000458:organization & administration*