The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 271 No 7276 p702
22 November 2003

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Scientific sessions 2003 (more)
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Adopting guidelines does improve care

A quality improvement programme designed by the American Heart Association has been shown to improve coronary care at 123 hospitals across the United States.

The “Get with the guidelines” programme includes a computerised patient management tool that prompts health professionals to follow guidelines and also includes learning materials. An assessment of the programme found that the number of patients who received early aspirin following a heart attack increased from 75 per cent to 89 per cent after the programme was introduced. Beta-blocker use after a heart attack increased from 62 per cent to 85 per cent, and smoking cessation counselling from 57 per cent to 82 per cent. The programme also significantly reduced gender inequalities.

The Journal’s attendance at the AHA conference was made possible by Pfizer

Coverage of the conference is available on the Reports page