“Push Alerts” of Troponin Results Speed ED Discharge

Many patients with chest pain are discharged from the emergency department when their provider becomes aware of a normal troponin value. Investigators at a single center in Canada conducted a cluster-randomized trial (with randomization at the physician level) to determine whether sending troponin results directly to physicians' smartphones via e-mail (i.e., “push alerts”) sped patient discharge.

A total of 1105 patients met inclusion criteria; 554 were assessed by 13 physicians who received push alerts (intervention arm), and 551 by 13 physicians who did not (control arm). The median time to discharge from troponin result availability was 69 minutes in the intervention arm and 94 minutes in the control arm, a statistically significant diffe…