Information system for assessing health care in acute myocardial infarction

A network system was organized in our region for quick diagnosis of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients and their transfer to specialized center for primary percutaneous coronary intervention. A clinical data repository, integrated with the Hospital Information System, was set up, recording door-to-balloon times (since emergency call to angioplasty) and follow-up information in addition to any patient clinical or interventional data. Gold standard of DTB<;90 min was assessed in 45% of patients. The developed repository was useful for evaluating care pathways in STEMI patients, assessing the correlation between DTB times and outcome and driving the improvement of health-care delivery.