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Contact: amurphy@acc.org;
202-375-6476
March 26, 2007
ACC Releases List of Hospitals Participating
in “D2B: An Alliance For Quality”
Program experiences rapid growth since November 2006 launch
New Orleans, La. – Today the American College of Cardiology
(ACC) released the list of hospitals that have joined “Door-to-Balloon:
An Alliance for Quality” since the program launch in
November 2006. To date, 833 hospitals have registered for
the D2B program; the list of participating hospitals can be
found at http://www.d2balliance.org/ParticipatingHospitals/tabid/159/Default.aspx.
“D2B: An Alliance for Quality” is a Guidelines
Applied in Practice (GAP) program developed by the ACC and
a host of partner organizations to save time and lives by
reducing the door-to-balloon times in U.S. hospitals performing
primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), or angioplasty
with stenting.
“This initiative has had an outstanding reception and
hospitals are seizing the opportunity to save time and save
lives. I am inspired by the enthusiasm across the country
by hospitals that are promising timely care to their patients
and making sure they deliver on that promise,” said
Harlan Krumholz, M.D., F.A.C.C., chair of the D2B Working
Group. “Times that were once thought to be impossible
are becoming commonplace at many institutions -- and what
was once best practice is becoming typical practice. This
effort, through the dedicated work of the clinicians, health
care professionals, hospitals and organizations, will make
a big difference to individual patients and their families.”
Previous guidelines developed by the ACC and the American
Heart Association (AHA) recommended that hospitals treating
ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients with PCI
should reliably achieve a door-to-balloon time of less than
90 minutes; however, hospitals struggled to meet recommended
times. The D2B initiative identified opportunities to improve
the quality of patient care and help hospitals reduce their
door-to-balloon times.
Several evidence-based strategies were identified to assist
hospitals in reducing their door-to-balloon times. The strategies
involve multiple departments and require a systems approach.
They include:
- The emergency medicine physicians activate the catheterization
laboratory (cath lab)
- A single call activates the cath lab
- The cath lab team arrives and is ready within 20-30 minutes
- Real-time data feedback in the emergency department and
the cath lab
- Senior management commitment
Participating hospitals received an implementation manual
and tool kit, as well as information on how to best construct
the team needed to implement the changes; what the roles and
responsibilities of each member should be; and how to identify
the point person for the project within each primary PCI hospital.
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The American College of Cardiology is leading the way to
optimal cardiovascular care and disease prevention. The College
is a 34,000-member nonprofit medical society and bestows the
credential Fellow of the American College of Cardiology upon
physicians who meet its stringent qualifications. The College
is a leader in the formulation of health policy, standards
and guidelines, and is a staunch supporter of cardiovascular
research. The ACC provides professional education and operates
national registries for the measurement and improvement of
quality care.
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