Critical pathways in cardiology
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Delay in treatment of patients with ST-elevation acute myocardial infarction (STEMI) has an adverse effect on patient outcomes. Limited data are available on the effectiveness of hospital care improvement strategies (HCIS) to reduce time to reperfusion by percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). This study evaluated the combined effect of HCIS implementation to reduce door-to-balloon time in patients with STEMI. ⋯ Implementation of HCIS shortened door-to-PCI time for patients with STEMI by 39.2 +/- 10 minutes. Thus, HCIS may be effective in improving patient outcomes.