# The impact of regional STEMI systems on protocol use and quality improvement initiatives in community hospitals without cardiac catheterization laboratories

## TL;DR

This study shows that regional STEMI systems in Minnesota improved hospital protocols and reduced heart attack deaths over time.

## Contribution

The study demonstrates how regional STEMI systems significantly enhanced protocol use and mortality outcomes in hospitals without catheterization labs.

## Key findings

- 89% of hospitals had formal STEMI protocols in 2010, up from 63% in 2003.
- The percentage of hospitals transferring STEMI patients increased from 23% in 2003 to 56% in 2010.
- Age-adjusted acute MI mortality in Minnesota decreased by 33% during the study period.

## Abstract

Since the 1990s, national guidelines have recommended hospitals develop STEMI treatment protocols and monitor quality. A 2003 survey of Minnesota hospitals without cardiac catheterization laboratories (CCL) found <2/3 had STEMI protocols, <50% had a quality assessment (QA) process, and protocols in existence were incomplete. We evaluated temporal changes in STEMI processes in relationship to changes in mortality.

Follow-up surveys were mailed to emergency departments at 108 Minnesota hospitals without CCL.

Among 87% of responding hospitals, 89% had formal protocols or guidelines for STEMI management compared to 63% in 2003 (p < 0.001). In 2010, 67% of hospitals had triage/transfer criteria and 15% of hospitals used protocols for transfer decisions, compared to only 8% (p < 0.001) and 1% (p = 0.098), respectively, in 2003. The percentage of hospitals transferring patients with STEMI from the emergency department increased from 23% in 2003 to 56% in 2010 (p < 0.001). During this time, age-adjusted acute MI mortality rate in Minnesota decreased 33% and was more pronounced in areas with regional STEMI systems.

Since 2003, utilization of STEMI guidelines, protocols, and standing orders in Minnesota hospitals without CCL has markedly improved with <10% of hospitals lacking specific STEMI management protocols. The majority of hospitals routinely transfer patients with STEMI for primary PCI and have comprehensive QA processes. This improvement was stimulated by regional STEMI systems, further supporting the current class I recommendation for STEMI systems of care in current guidelines. The decline in Minnesota STEMI mortality paralleled the growth of regional STEMI systems.

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