Get with the guidelines for cardiovascular secondary prevention. Pilot results

Universal access: But when? Treating the right patient at the right time: Access to cardiac rehabilitation

“…Research by Labresh et al (31) found that a 'Web-based patient management tool', which was piloted in 24 hospitals in the United States and included an automatic referral for eligible patients, increased CR referral from 34% to 73% over a 10 to 12 month period (31). Similarly, Grace et al (30) found that automatic electronic referral to a CR site nearest home compared with usual referral resulted in 43% of eligible patients enrolling in CR, an additional 23% to 28% enrolment over that commonly reported in literature.…”

“…It has been suggested that an automatic referral process, in which a CR referral is generated as a standard order from electronic records for all eligible patients, results in increased referrals and reduced disparities in access (28)(29)(30)(31). Research by Labresh et al (31) found that a 'Web-based patient management tool', which was piloted in 24 hospitals in the United States and included an automatic referral for eligible patients, increased CR referral from 34% to 73% over a 10 to 12 month period (31).…”

Effects of cardiac rehabilitation referral strategies on referral and enrollment rates

“…64,65 strategies involving referral to Cr before and after hospital discharge have both been studied. 38,[55][56][57] Effects on CR referral rates studies examining the effects of a referral strategy on Cr referral rates are shown in table 1. in the majority of these studies, referral strategies were associated with significant positive effects on referral rates, 43,[50][51][52]55,60 but two studies showed that referral strategies did not signifi cantly increase referral rates when compared with usual care. 54,56 another three studies did not incorporate a comparison group, but described referral rates only.…”

“…sample forms for inpatient referral using this strategy are shown in the aHa's Performance measures publication. 6 several studies have tested strategies for automatic electronic referral, 35,43,[48][49][50][51][52][53] automatic manual referral, 54 liaison, 38,[55][56][57][58][59] and a combination of these approaches. [60][61][62][63] in addition, comparisons have been made between electronic and manual automatic referral, liaison methods, and usual referral.…”

Comprehensive Coronary Artery Disease Care in a Safety-Net Hospital: Results of Get With The Guidelines Quality Improvement Initiative

“…2 The AHA's Get With The Guidelines (GWTG) program is a hospital-based initiative that promotes incorporation of the ACC/ AHA secondary prevention guidelines into national CAD care delivery. 3 A major focus is appropriate pharmacologic treatment during hospitalization, since many patients are inadequately treated despite widespread guideline dissemination. The AHA GWTG program defines appropriate treatment based on eligible CAD patients receiving ACEIs, beta-blockers, hydroxymethylglutaryl (HMG) coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins), and aspirin.…”