Twenty-nine healthcare organizations have formed a coalition, the Alliance for Cardiac Care Excellence, to ensure that all hospitalized cardiac patients receive care consistent with nationally accepted standards. Today, 85% of adult cardiac patients receive treatment that follows clinical guidelines for seven basic quality measures, according to an ACE statement. ACE wants to push that rate up to 95% of patients by the end of this year and has set a goal that 95% of cardiac patients will receive care based on the full set of 12 quality measures by the end of 2007. To help hospitals deliver quality cardiac care, ACE intends to educate providers and hospitals on appropriate care for heart attack and heart failure patients; inform hospitals not engaged in quality improvement programs of programs that will work in their facilities; support public reporting of compliance with nationally accepted standards of care; remove barriers, such as regulatory, payment or other policies that may impede improved patient outcomes; and share successful strategies resulting in improved performance and patient care.
Over the next two years, the group will announce additional goals to improve the quality of cardiovascular care in areas such as discharge instructions for hospitalized patients, appropriate screening for cardiac risk factors in outpatients, and incorporating quality improvement into medical education and certification. Coalition members include the AHA, CMS, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the American Heart Association, and the American College of Cardiology.
