Statewide Prehospital STEMI Destination Policies Do Little to Improve Timely Reperfusion

Instead, we should focus on patients calling 911 sooner after the onset of symptoms.

Faster reperfusion after ST-segment myocardial infarction (STEMI) improves outcomes. While the chain of survival for these patients has many links, one of the first is transport to percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI)–capable hospitals. To facilitate this, some states have mandated that patients with STEMI be transported to a PCI-capable hospital, even if this means bypassing a closer hospital, while other states either have no such mandate or local/privately developed triage policies.

Researchers compared rates of PCI within 90 minutes of first medical contact in six states with and six states without prehospital destination policies. A total of 19,287 patients with STEMI were included; patient characteristics were similar between the t…

Reviewing Author

Ali S. Raja, MD, MBA, MPH

Disclosures

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesSociety for Academic Emergency Medicine (Board Member); American College of Healthcare Executives – Massachusetts (Board Member)

Ali S. Raja, MD, MBA, MPH

Disclosures

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesSociety for Academic Emergency Medicine (Board Member); American College of Healthcare Executives – Massachusetts (Board Member)

Statewide Prehospital STEMI Destination Policies Do Little to Improve Timely Reperfusion

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Reviewing Author