| This contest is fueled by the following news: |
| Local cardiac hospitals
indicate that they follow six recommended measures to treating heart attack patients. The say that they use these procedures within 90 minutes of arrival. The recommended measures they follow are:
-- let ER doctors activate catheterization lab and prepare for angioplasty instead of waiting for a cardiologist.
-- establish a one call system so that the angioplasty team can be on hand quickly.
-- have the ER staff activate the cath lab when the paramedics tell them that a patient en route has suffered a heart attack.
-- expect appropriate staff members to be in the hospital within 20 minutes of being paged.
-- make sure that a cardiologist is on site at the hospital at all times.
-- make sure that the staff gets immediate feedback in regard to how they performed. |
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[ Only about a third of hospitals nationwide are meeting the 90-minute standard for treating heart attack patients, so many hospitals attempt to speed up treatment by using time-saving practices and devices. ]
