Key result
HEART Pathway implementation is linked to a >20% reduction in hospital costs for chest pain.
Why the study?
Clinical judgment can underestimate risk of major adverse cardiac events in low-risk chest pain patients, and the impact of the HEART Pathway on hospital costs needed evaluation.
Does implementation of the HEART Pathway reduce hospital costs in patients presenting with chest pain?
Observational
No
Does implementation of the HEART Pathway reduce hospital costs in patients presenting with chest pain?
Implementation of the HEART Pathway for chest pain evaluation in the emergency department can significantly reduce hospital costs and increase outpatient follow-up.
May support cost savings in chest pain evaluation; leaves open confirmation via randomized trials before practice change.
Chest pain is a common complaint in emergency departments. Several guidelines and tools exist to help the clinician determine need for hospitalization. For low-risk patients, clinical judgment can underestimate a patient's risk of major adverse cardiac event. Implementation of an advanced diagnostic protocol with the HEART Pathway can reduce hospital cost. For our academic institution, we saw an approximate $1 million in total savings during the initial implementation year along with increased outpatient visits. In addition, an increase in outpatient visits confirmed previous estimates that implementation of the HEART Pathway results in >20% reduction of hospital costs. We also identify challenges and considerations for facilities looking to repeat our successes.
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Yau et al. (2017) conducted an observational in Chest pain. HEART Pathway was evaluated on Hospital costs (>20% reduction). Implementation of the HEART Pathway for patients with chest pain resulted in approximately $1 million in total savings during the initial year and a >20% reduction in hospital costs.
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