What Does This Measure?

The percentage of heart attack patients with a history of smoking cigarettes who were given information or counseling to help them quit smoking.

Why Is This Important?

Studies have shown that smoking increases the risk of blood clots and heart disease. This causes arteries to thicken and blood vessels to narrow, increasing the risk for a heart attack, heart failure, or stroke.

Patients who receive advice or counseling about quitting smoking are more likely to quit than those who do not.

What Are We Doing to Improve Our Performance?

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

• Computerized physician order entry (CPOE)
• Evidence-based medicine
• HealthView patient portal
• Heart attack-specific discharge instructions and patient education information
• Nursing and physician education
• Patient advocacy and support groups
• Patient rounding
• Patient safety and clinical quality committees
• Smoking cessation programs and patient education information
• Standardized order sets
• Tobacco-free campus

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