Initiative Aims to Combat Hospitalizations After Acute Coronary Syndrome Events

The American College of Physicians (ACP) has announced the release of “Keeping Your Heart Healthy”, a patient centered initiative to improve health outcomes in the first year following an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) event.

In a news briefing at the 2013 ACP Scientific Sessions, Doron Schneider, MD, FACP, Chief Patient Safety and Quality Officer at Abington Hospital in Abington Pennsylvania, described the development of the initiative (comprised of a series of booklets and videos) as “patient centered”. 

“We’ve taken great care in bringing the patient’s voice to this,” Schneider said, describing the initiative’s development. 

In order to better understand the issues presented to patients after an ACS event, the ACP gathered 4 focus groups of 8 to 12 people, all of which had experienced an ACS event in the last year.  The participants were asked questions focusing on their understanding of ACS, their medication use, and their experiences since the event. 

From the data gathered, checklists were created, paired with photos of real ACS patients, and collected into 2 pamphlets – 1 from the patient’s perspective, and 1 from the clinician’s. 

The goal of the initiative is to “encourage active participation with the patient,” Schneider said.

To that end, Steven E. Weinberger, MD, FACP, Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of the ACP announced the creation of the Center for Patient Partnership in Healthcare (CPPH). 

The goal of the CPPH is to create an educational partnership that greater utilizes the patient’s voice.

“We want to be able to empower patients so they are truly involved in their care,” Weinberger said. 

The ACP hopes that with “Keeping Your Heart Healthy”, patient health in the first year after an ACS event can be improved and hospitalization can be avoided. 

“The best patient experience you can have in a hospital is not to have to go,” concluded David L. Bronson, MD, MACP, President of the American College of Physicians.

“Its all about the patients.  In the end, that’s all that matters.”

–Michael Potts

Reference

Schneider D, Weinberger S E, Bronson D L.  Talk presented at: 2013 American College of Physicians Scientific Sessions; April 12, 2013; San Francisco, CA.