Heart Attack Patients Given Fibrinolytic Medication within 30 Minutes of Arrival

What Does This Measure?

The percentage of eligible heart attack patients who received fibrinolytic drugs within 30 minutes of their arrival at the hospital.

Why Is This Important?

Heart attacks often occur when blood clots cause blockages in blood vessels, depriving the heart of sufficient oxygen. Fibrinolytic drugs help dissolve blood clots and improve blood flow to the heart. Doctors should only administer fibrinolytic drugs for certain patients.

What Are We Doing to Improve Our Performance?

Duke has enacted several initiatives to improve our performance. These include:

• Evidence-based medicine
• Computerized physician order entry (CPOE)
• Standardized order sets
• Electronic medical records (EMR)
• Six Sigma and DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, and control process) methodologies
• Emergency Department nursing and physician education
• Patient safety and clinical quality committees
• Heart attack-specific patient education information
  
• Patient advocacy and support groups
• HealthView patient portal

More Information

• See more heart attack quality measures
• See all performance measures
• Compare Duke to other North Carolina hospitals at NC Hospital Quality Report
• Compare Duke to regional and national hospitals at Hospital Quality Alliance's Hospital Compare