How text messages ‘virtually eliminated’ missed STEMIs
Australian researchers report that rural hospitals that automatically alert coronary care nurses of suspected MI patients can plug gaps in diagnoses
A text message system linking Australian rural hospitals to specialist coronary care nurses “virtually eliminated” the chances of a missed diagnosis of ST-elevated MI, a study finds.
The Australian research, published in JAMA Cardiology, explored why one-third of patients presenting to hospitals with a ST-elevated MI (STEMI) do not receive appropriate care.
The study included 29 rural hospitals that operate without emergency medicine specialists.
Researchers randomly assigned 15 facilities to a system that automatically sent a text to a coronary care unit nurse at a tertiary hospital when a patient presented with symptoms of acute coronary syndrome.
