title: Chest pain centers.
abstract: Conceptually, the Chest Pain Center model is nothing more than a system of delivering health care. It is a model that all hospitals can embrace as a framework for organizational decision making in meeting the heart-care needs of their communities. It also provides a framework for clinical decision making. By adopting some or all of the common features of the model, hospitals develop a common language, similar to what took place when CCUs first opened in the 1960s. Application of evidence-based clinical practice is promoted. Approaches that account for both clinical outcomes and financial outcomes will be further refined. One result will be simultaneous improvement in clinical outcomes and a decrease in costs, but the most important aspect of the Chest Pain Center model is that it puts the patient first.
authors.affiliation: AMC, Inc., Columbus, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Joseph
mesh_terms: D002637:Chest Pain; D003151:Community Health Centers; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004632:Emergency Medical Services; D006801:Humans; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy