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 FedericoThomas Jefferson University Hospital
Phone: 215-955-6300
Published: 10-20-2009
