Reducing Door-to-ECG Time Without Increasing ED Staffing

Training registration clerks to page dedicated ECG technicians when patients present with chest pain significantly reduced time to ECG.

Guidelines from the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association state that an electrocardiogram should be obtained within 10 minutes after patients present with chest pain. These authors evaluated the effect on time to ECG of an intervention that involved training registration clerks to page dedicated emergency department ECG technicians when patients present with chest pain or other complaints associated with acute coronary syndromes. The technician immediately delivered the ECG to an emergency physician for interpretation. Before the intervention, patients were registered by clerks and triaged by nurses before an ECG was ordered.

The authors compared data for 313 consecutive adult patients who presented with chest pai…

Reviewing Author

Diane M. Birnbaumer, MD, FACEP

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardSecurisyn

Editorial boardsThe Merck Manuals (Home and Physician Editions)

Diane M. Birnbaumer, MD, FACEP

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardSecurisyn

Editorial boardsThe Merck Manuals (Home and Physician Editions)