National heart attack register
August 6, 2012
AUSTRALIA needs a national
heart attack register to
continuously track and monitor
cardiac services, according to an
article published this week in the
Medical Journal of Australia.
Authored by Heart Foundation
cardiologist Professor Derek Chew,
the article argues that having a
national register will tell medical
practitioners whether people are
getting the right tests and the right
procedures at the right time.
Professor Chew also said that a
national register would aid in
identifying high risk patients who
are falling through the cracks of the
current system and would help to
track people in the event of a
device failure or recall.
“An Australian has a heart attack
every ten minutes and yet we know
very little about the quality of
treatment they receive once
they’re in hospital – it’s like driving
a car without a speedometer,”
Professor Chew said.
Professor Chew continued to
argue his point saying that in the
wake of a heart attack cardiologists
can restore blood flow by inserting
a balloon into the artery, but
survival rates are highest when
this happens within 90 minutes of
the patient having arrived at
hospital.
“We believe that this critical
‘door-to-balloon’ time of less than
90 minutes is only achieved in
around 40 per cent of heart attack
cases,” he said.
“A comprehensive national
register would give us greater
insight as to what causes these
potentially life-threatening delays
and whether certain groups or
locations are more affected.
“Without this ongoing monitoring
or feedback, we cannot possibly
know whether we’re delivering a
good service for heart attack
patients,” he added.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 06 Aug 12To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 06 Aug 12
