title: AMI team buckles down to improve outcomes.
abstract: Process improvements developed at Middletown (OH) Regional Hospital have cut length of stay by 1.6 days and reduced mortality by half for its acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients. The hospital's initial efforts focused on educating the largely voluntary EMS squads on the latest technology and treatment protocols. As a result, "door-to-needle" time dropped from an average of 84 minutes to 22 minutes. Other areas of improvement included the emergency department's triage time, decision making for administering thrombolytic therapy, and the time used for repeat EKG.
mesh_terms: D002637:Chest Pain / Q000175:diagnosis*; D019091:Critical Pathways; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards*; D006745:Hospital Bed Capacity, 300 to 499; D006764:Hospitals, Community; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000639:trends; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000191:economics / Q000628:therapy*; D019370:Observation; D009820:Ohio; D017064:Process Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome