Beta Blocker on Discharge
Why is this important?
Beta blockers are a type of medicine used to lower blood pressure and treat chest pain (also known as angina) and heart failure. Beta blockers relieve stress on the heart by slowing the heart rate and reducing the force with which the heart pumps blood. They also help to prevent blood vessels in the heart, brain and other parts of the body from narrowing and affecting blood flow. While not all heart attack survivors should receive beta blockers, most of them should be given a prescription for a beta blocker before leaving the hospital.
How WellSpan Compares
Last year, York Hospital and Gettysburg Hospital treated 750 patients with heart attack. The following shows the percentage of patients (for whom beta blockers were appropriate) who were given a prescription for a beta blocker upon discharge.
Unit of Measurement:
Percentage
A higher score is better than a lower score.
What we are doing to improve our performance.
|
A team of WellSpan doctors, nurses and other care givers, known as the “Heart Attack Clinical Effectiveness Team,” meets regularly to review important information and strategies for improving care for heart attack patients. Improvement steps include implementation of standardized forms which list essential medications and check boxes to indicate why medications were not administered/ordered.
So far, this team has revised and standardized forms that doctors and nurses use and the procedures they follow to make sure that everyone who should receive a beta blocker does receive a prescription for a beta blocker when they are discharged from the hospital. They also have developed important patient education material and continuously analyze how they provide care to heart attack patients. WellSpan will continue to monitor the success of these changes and recommend other improvement steps as necessary. |
|
|