JAMDA
Volume 10, Issue 1 , Pages 56-61 , January 2009

Acute Myocardial Infarction in Nursing Home Residents: Adherence to Treatment Guidelines Reduces Mortality, But Why Is Adherence So Low?

  • Cari R. Levy, MD

      Affiliations

    • VA Eastern Colorado Healthcare System, HSR&D TREP for Long-term Care Research, Denver, CO
    • University of Colorado, School of Medicine Division of Health Care Policy and Research, Aurora, CO
    • Corresponding Author InformationAddress correspondence to Cari Levy, MD, VA Eastern Colorado Healthcare System, HSR&D TREP for Long-term Care Research, 1055 Clermont Street, Building C, Mailstop 151, Denver, CO 80220
  • ,
  • Tiffany A. Radcliff, PhD

      Affiliations

    • VA Eastern Colorado Healthcare System, HSR&D TREP for Long-term Care Research, Denver, CO
    • University of Colorado, School of Medicine Division of Health Care Policy and Research, Aurora, CO
  • ,
  • Elizabeth T. Williams, MS

      Affiliations

    • VA Eastern Colorado Healthcare System, HSR&D TREP for Long-term Care Research, Denver, CO
  • ,
  • Evelyn Hutt, MD

      Affiliations

    • VA Eastern Colorado Healthcare System, HSR&D TREP for Long-term Care Research, Denver, CO
    • University of Colorado, School of Medicine Division of Health Care Policy and Research, Aurora, CO

References 

  1. Hayward RS, Wilson MC, Tunis SR, et al. Evidence-Based Medicine Working Group Users' guides to the medical literature (VII: How to use clinical practice guidelines, A: Are the recommendations valid?). JAMA. 1995;274:570–574
  2. Garber AM. Evidence-based guidelines as a foundation for performance incentives. Health Aff. 2007;24:174–179
  3. Boyd CM, Darer J, Boult C, et al. Clinical practice guidelines and quality of care for older patients with multiple comorbid diseases: Implications for pay for performance. JAMA. 2005;294:716–724
  4. Tinetti ME, Bogardus ST, Agostini JV. Potential pitfalls of disease-specific guidelines for patients with multiple conditions. N Engl J Med. 2004;2870–2874
  5. Spector WD, Fleishman JA, Pezzin LE, et al. The Characteristics of Long-term Care Users. AHRQ Publication No. 00–0049, 2000.
  6. US Bureau of the Census. Current Population Reports, P23–190, 65+ in the United States. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office; 1996;
  7. Krantz MJ, Baker WA, Estacio RO, et al. Comprehensive coronary artery disease care in a safety-net hospital: Results of Get With The Guidelines quality improvement initiative. J Manag Care Pharm. 2007;13:319–325
  8. Chandra NC, Ziegeestein RC, Rogers WJ, et al. Observations of the treatment of women in the United States with myocardial infarction: A report from the National Registry of Myocardial Infarction-I. Arch Intern Med. 1998;158:981–988
  9. Rathore SS, Berger AK, Weinfurt KP, et al. Race, sex, poverty, and the medical treatment of acute myocardial infarction in the elderly. Circulation. 2000;102:642–648
  10. Radcliff T. Assessing the relationship between hospital competition and guideline adherence for acute myocardial infarction (156). University of Minnesota; 2000;
  11. Jackson E, Yarzebski J, Goldberg R, et al. Do not resuscitate orders in patients hospitalized with acute myocardial infarction: The Worcester Heart Attack Study. Arch Intern Med. 2004;164:776–783
  12. Schulman KA, Berlin JA, Harless W, et al. The effect of race and sex on physicians' recommendations for cardiac catheterization. N Engl J Med. 1999;340:618–626
  13. Kemper P, Murdaugh C. Lifetime use of nursing home care. N Engl J Med. 1991;324:595–600
  14. Egleston BL, Rudberg MA, Brody JA. State variation in nursing home mortality outcomes according to do-not-resuscitate status. J Gerontol A-Biol Sci Med Sci. 2000;55:M215–M220
  15. Shepardson LB, Youngner SJ, Speroff T, et al. Increased risk of death in patients with do-not-resuscitate orders. Med Care. 1999;37:727–737
  16. Berger AK, Edris DW, Breall JA, et al. Resource use and quality of care for Medicare patients with acute myocardial infarction in Maryland and the District of Columbia: Analysis of data from the Cooperative Cardiovascular Project. Am Heart J. 1998;135:349–356
  17. Ellerbeck EF, Jencks SF, Radford MJ, et al. Quality of care for Medicare patients with acute myocardial infarction (A four-state pilot study from the Cooperative Cardiovascular Project). JAMA. 1995;273:1509–1514
  18. Jencks SF. HCFA's Health Care Quality Improvement Program and the Cooperative Cardiovascular Project. Ann Thorac Surg. 1994;58:1858–1862
  19. Kresowik T. Cooperative Cardiovascular Project: Committee updates. Iowa Med. 1993;83:379
  20. Krumholz HM, Radford MJ, Ellerbeck EF, et al. Aspirin in the treatment of acute myocardial infarction in elderly Medicare beneficiaries (Patterns of use and outcomes). Circulation. 1995;92:2841–2847
  21. Marciniak TA, Ellerbeck EF, Radford MJ, et al. Improving the quality of care for Medicare patients with acute myocardial infarction: results from the Cooperative Cardiovascular Project. JAMA. 1998;279:1351–1357
  22. Grumbach K, Anderson GM, Luft HS, et al. Regionalization of cardiac surgery in the United States and Canada: Geographic access, choice, and outcomes. JAMA. 1995;274:1282–1288
  23. Grumbach K, Anderson GM, Luft HS, et al. Regionalization of cardiac surgery in the United States and Canada: Geographic access, choice, and outcomes. JAMA. 1995;274:1282–1288
  24. O'Connor GT, Quinton HB, Travern ND, et al. Geographic variation in the treatment of acute myocardial infarction. JAMA. 1999;281:627–633
  25. Sukel TA, Lucas FL, Wennberg DE. Long-term outcomes of regional variations in intensity of invasive vs. medical management of Medicare patients with acute myocardial infarction. JAMA. 2004;293:1329–1337
  26. Braunwald E, Antman EM, Beasley JW, et al. ACC/AHA 2002 guideline update for the management of patients with unstable angina and non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction—summary article: A report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association task force on practice guidelines (Committee on the Management of Patients With Unstable Angina). J Am Coll Cardiol. 2002;40:1366–1374
  27. Bundorf M, Escarce J, Stafford J, et al. Impact of managed care on the treatment, costs, and outcomes of fee-for-service Medicare patients with acute myocardial infarction. Health Serv Res. 2005;39:131–152
  28. Krumholz HM, Howes CJ, Murillo JE, et al. Validation of a clinical prediction rule for left ventricular ejection fraction after myocardial infarction in patients > or = 65 years old. Am J Cardiol. 1997;80:11–15
  29. Allison JJ, Kiefe CI, Centor RM, et al. Racial differences in the medical treatment of elderly Medicare patients with acute myocardial infarction. J Gen Intern Med. 1996;11:736–743
  30. Jencks SF, Cuerdon T, Burwen DR, et al. Quality of medical care delivered to Medicare beneficiaries: A profile at state and national levels. JAMA. 2000;284:1670–1676
  31. Vogel RA. HCFA's Cooperative Cardiovascular Project: A nationwide quality assessment of acute myocardial infarction. Clin Cardiol. 1994;17:354–356
  32. Medicare Payment Advisory Commission. Report to the Congress: Medicare payment policy. MedPAC, 95–99. Washington, DC, 2001.
  33. Jani SM, Montoye C, Mehta R, et al. Sex differences in the application of evidence-based therapies for the treatment of acute myocardial infarction. Arch Intern Med. 2006;166:1164–1170
  34. Fagerlin A, Schneider CE. Enough (The failure of the living will). Hastings Cent Rep. 2006;34:30–42
  35. Bhatt DL, Roe MT, Peterson ED, et al. Utilization of early invasive management strategies for high-risk patients with non–ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes: Results from the CRUSADE quality improvement initiative. JAMA. 2004;292:2096–2104

 C.R.L. is funded by a Veterans Affairs Career Development Award. She has no other financial disclosures. T.A.R. receives salary support through the US Department of Veterans Affairs Health Services Research & Development Research Enhancement Award Program (HSRD REA 06–0173) at the Denver VA Medical Center. She has no other financial disclosures. E.T.W. receives salary support through the US Department of Veterans Affairs Health Services Research & Development Research Enhancement Award Program (HSRD REA 06–0173) at the Denver VA Medical Center. She has no other financial disclosures. E.H. receives salary support through the US Department of Veterans Affairs Health Services Research & Development Research Enhancement Award Program (HSRD REA 06–0173) at the Denver VA Medical Center. She has no other financial disclosures.

 Data were provided by StratisHealth, the Quality Improvement Organization for Minnesota, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

 The analyses using Cooperative Cardiovascular Project (CCP) baseline data were performed under a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Dissertation Fellowship Grant (No. 30-P-91016/5–01) awarded in 1999, which was extended through a data use agreement until 12/31/2009. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of Health and Human Services, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement by the US government. The authors assume full responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the ideas presented. This article is the direct result of the Health Care Quality Improvement Program initiated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which has encouraged identification of quality improvement projects derived from the analysis patterns of care, and therefore required no special funding on the part of the contractor. Feedback to the authors concerning the issues presented is welcomed.

PII: S1525-8610(08)00275-2

doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2008.08.009

JAMDA
Volume 10, Issue 1 , Pages 56-61 , January 2009