Prevention of Future Heart Attacks
When the blood flow in the arteries to the heart is completely blocked, part of the heart muscle dies. This causes an acute myocardial infarction (heart attack).
Administering Aspirin at Discharge
What are we measuring?
The percentage of patients given aspirin at discharge.
Why is this important?
Use of aspirin is an inexpensive, safe, and effective way to help reduce the risk of heart attack for some patients. According to scientific studies, taking aspirin may help prevent further heart attacks, although it is not appropriate for all patients. Hospitals can help reduce the risk of heart attacks by giving patients aspirin when they leave the hospitals.
What is our performance telling us?
BIDMC reports its performance on this measure every quarter to the US Department of Health & Human Services, which posts this information on its website at Hospital Compare. The chart shows BIDMC's most recent quarterly performance, compared to the performance of the nation's Top 10% hospitals.Look for big differences in the scores in order to be sure the difference is meaningful. Small differences may not reflect real differences in performance (i.e., they may not be statistically significant).
Source of comparison data: HospitalCompare, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, April, 2013.
View our past performance over time.
According to Hospital Compare,100% of heart attack patients at the nation's Top 10% of hospitals are administered aspirin at the time of discharge as a means of preventing future heart attacks. At BIDMC, 100% of heart attack patients are also administered aspirin. Therefore, BIDMC's performance is among the top 10% of hospitals for prescribing aspirin to heart attack patients when they are discharged from the hospital.
Administering Beta Blockers at Discharge
What are we measuring?
The percent of patients given beta blockers at discharge.
Why is this important?
Hospitals can help reduce the risk of another heart attack by giving discharged patients beta blockers, which are a type of medicine used to lower blood pressure, treat chest pain (angina) and heart failure, and help prevent a future heart attack.
What does our performance tell us?
BIDMC reports its performance on this measure every quarter to the US Department of Health & Human Services, which posts this information on its website at Hospital Compare. The chart shows BIDMC's most recent quarterly performance, compared to the performance of the nation's Top 10% hospitals. Look for big differences in the scores in order to be sure that the difference is meaningful. Small differences may not reflect real differences in performance (i.e., they may not be statistically significant).
Source of comparison data: HospitalCompare, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, April, 2013.
View our past performance over time.
According to Hospital Compare, 100% of heart attack patients at the nation's top 10% of hospitals are administered beta blockers at the time of discharge as a means of future heart attack prevention. At BIDMC, 100% of heart attack patients are also administered beta blockers at discharge. Therefore, BIDMC's performance is among the nation's top 10% of hospitals for administering beta blockers to heart attack patients at the time of discharge.
Advice to Stop Smoking
What are we measuring?
Percent of heart attack patients who smoke or who have quit within the past 12 months that are given smoking cessation advice counseling.
Why is this important?
There is a clear link between smoking and heart attacks. In particular, heart attack patients who stop smoking have a better prognosis than those who do not quit. By counseling patients to quit at a time when they are likely to be receptive to this message, hospitals can help them reduce their risk of future heart attacks.
What does our performance tell us?
BIDMC reports its performance on this measure every quarter to the US Department of Health & Human Services, which posts this information on its website at Hospital Compare. The chart shows BIDMC's most recent quarterly performance, compared to the performance of the nation's Top 10% hospitals. Look for big differences in the scores in order to be sure the difference is meaningful. Small differences may not reflect real differences in performance (i.e., they may not be statistically significant).
Source of comparison data: HospitalCompare, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, April, 2013.
View our past performance over time.
According to Hospital Compare, 100% of heart attack patients at the nation's Top 10% of hospitals are given smoking cessation advice counseling at the time of discharge in an effort to prevent future heart attacks. At BIDMC, 100% of heart attack patients are also given smoking cessation advice counseling at discharge. Therefore, BIDMC's performance is among the nation's top 10% of hospitals for giving smoking cessation advice counseling to heart attack patients at the time of discharge.
What are we doing to improve our performance?
BIDMC physicians and nurses are working to provide patients with advice to stop smoking during their hospital stay and at the time of discharge. The assessment and documentation systems for patients in critical care areas are being updated to include more specific detail about smoking history. This will help identify the need to provide smoking cessation counseling to patients and/or their caregivers.
Other useful specific services measures:
Last updated: April 5, 2013