Heart attack death rates reduced in Kaiser program

The Kaiser Permanente-piloted Collaborative Cardiac Care Service helped coronary artery disease patients, doctors, cardiologists and others, to team with an electronic health record and a clinical care registry in Colorado. The result, revealed late last week, was that heart attack deaths were reduced by 73 percent. 

Kaiser CEO George Halvorson is a firm believer in better outcomes through technology. He feels that the more organized and personalized technology is, the more efficient care toward patients can be. 

"Technology itself cannot solve the healthcare crisis," Halvorson said. "[The Collaborative Cardiac Care Service] was not [full of] newer or more expensive treatments, but [it was] an integrated approach to deliver the right care at the right time." 

Patients who enrolled in the program within 90 days of having a heart attack had an 88 percent reduced risk of dying from a "cardiac-related cause," according to the program's results. Patients also were more likely to be screened for and meet their cholesterol goals, with patients screened jumping from 55 percent to 97 percent, and patients meeting their goal climbing from 26 to 73 percent. 

To learn more:
- here's the Healthcare IT News article

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