Jefferson Receives Chest Pain Center Accreditation
The Chest Pain Center in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (TJUH) recently received full Cycle II accreditation with PCI (percutaneous
coronary intervention) from the Accreditation Review Committee of the
Society of Chest Pain Centers (SCPC). With the rise of chest pain
centers came the need to establish standards designed to improve the
consistency and quality of care provided to patients. SCPC’s
accreditation process insures centers meet or exceed quality-of-care
measures in acute cardiac medicine.
The
chest pain center’s protocol-driven and systematic approach to patient
management allows physicians to reduce time to treatment during the
critical early stages of a heart attack, when treatments are most
effective, and to better monitor patients when it is not clear whether
they are having a coronary event. Such observation helps ensure that a
patient is neither sent home too early nor needlessly admitted.
Jefferson’s
Chest Pain Center has demonstrated its expertise and commitment to
quality patient care by meeting or exceeding a wide set of stringent
criteria and completing on-site evaluations by a review team from SCPC.
Key areas in which a chest pain center must demonstrate expertise
include:
- Integrating the emergency department with the local emergency medical system;
- Assessing, diagnosing, and treating patients quickly;
- Effectively treating patients with low risk for acute coronary syndrome and no assignable cause for their symptoms;
- Continually seeking to improve processes and procedures;
- Ensuring chest pain center personnel competency and training;
- Maintaining organizational structure and commitment
- Having a functional design that promotes optimal patient care; and
- Supporting community outreach programs that educate the public to promptly seek medical care if they display symptoms of a
possible heart attack.
Heart
attacks are the leading cause of death in the United States, with
600,000 dying annually of heart disease. More than five million
Americans visit hospitals each year with chest pain. The goal of the
SCPC is to significantly reduce the mortality rate of these patients by
teaching the public to recognize and react to the early symptoms of a
possible heart attack, reduce the time that it takes to receive
treatment, and increase the accuracy and effectiveness of treatment.
About the Society of Chest Pain Centers (SCPC)
The
Society of Chest Pain Centers is a patient centric non-profit
international professional organization focused upon improving care for
patients with acute coronary syndromes and other related maladies.
Established in 1998, the Society is dedicated to patient advocacy and
focusing on ischemic heart disease. Central to its mission is the
question, “What is right for the patient?” In answer, the Society
promotes protocol based medicine, often delivered through a Chest Pain
Center model to address the diagnosis and treatment of acute coronary
syndromes, heartfailure, and to promote the adoption of process
improvement science by healthcare providers. To best fulfill this
mission, the Society of Chest Pain Centers provides accreditation to
facilities striving for optimum Chest Pain Center care. SCPC is
headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.
For more information on the Society of Chest Pain Centers visit www.scpcp.org, or contact Robert Lipetz, Executive Director at (614) 442-5950 or director@scpcp.org.
Media Only Contact:
Ed Federico
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
Phone: (215) 955-6300
Published: 10/20/2009