Aspirin at Arrival to any HealthONE Hospital in Denver, Colorado

Timeframe: January 2011 through March 2011
(Most Recent Data Available)

Timeframe: October 2009 through September 2010
(Yearly National and State Comparison)

What Does This Measure?

The percentage of eligible heart attack patients who received aspirin within 24 hours of their arrival at the hospital.

Why Is This Important?

Heart attacks are caused by a blood clot in one or more blood vessels. Because this blocks blood flow, the heart is deprived of sufficient oxygen.

For most people, aspirin is a safe and effective way to prevent blood clots and dissolve blood clots that have already formed. Chewing an aspirin at the first sign of a heart attack may help reduce the severity of the attack.

What Are We Doing to Improve Our Performance?

HealthONE hospitals have implemented several initiatives to maintain our high performance on this measure. These include:

• Electronic medication records
• Evidence-based medicine
• Nurse and physician training
• Patient safety and quality committee