Implementing a clinical pathway for the treatment of Medicare patients with cardiac chest pain.

Background: A small urban hospital identified angina pectoris (DRG 140) as a high-cost and low-reimbursement DRG. Variation in the process of care for patients with cardiac chest pain was related to the timing of decisions on stress tests and whether inpatient GI workups were performed. Underutilization of aspirin was identified as a quality of care issue. In collaboration with Texas Medical Foundation (TMF), the Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) for Texas, this became the initial Health Care Quality Improvement Program (HCQIP) project and the first effort by the hospital at pathway development.

Intervention: A team effort lead by physicians, including other healthcare groups at the hospital, identified elements considered essential to providing ideal care for patients with cardiac chest pain, formulating these elements into a clinical pathway.

Results: Emergency room physicians, an essential stakeholder group, had not been included in the initial pathway development, which proved to be a critical factor to effective implementation. Pathway implementation was associated with increased administration of aspirin by 45.7% (p < 0.001), reduced length of stay by 1.0 days (p = 0.064), and reduced total charges by an average of $1710.20 (p = 0.039).

Discussion: These results suggest that process of care improvement, i.e., clinical pathway implementation, in collaboration with a QIO, contributed to reduced variation in the process of care. Participation by all stakeholders from the beginning in process of care improvement is essential.