Experience

Why should experience be important to you?

The more experience doctors and nurses have, the better the results.  As studies have shown, the role of patient volume as it relates to outcomes is well documented.  Hospitals with large volumes in procedures result in better clinical outcomes for patients. Studies find lower patient mortality rates for given procedures when the hospital or physician has high-volume experience performing that procedure (Annals of Internal medicine, 9/17/02).

In 2006, more than 1,100 heart surgeries were performed at OHH.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA, March 2000) reported that hospitals that perform at least 500 coronary artery bypass surgeries annually had lower mortality rates.  

At OHH 10,167 cardiac catheterizations were performed in 2006.

According to the Goodroe Quarterly Cath Lab Data, hospitals with cath labs performing an average of 1,011 cardiac catheterizations a yearhad better outcomes and more highly skilled staff. At OHH we preform almost 10 times that amount annually.

Best practices

The National Voluntary Hospital Reporting Initiative collects and reports hospital quality performance information.  It is available to the public through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).  CMS has identified three quality measures specific to heart care.

• Aspirin therapy
  Timely use of aspirin therapy is a “best practice” that helps reduce mortality rates for heart attack patients. Currently, 100 percent of eligible heart attack patients at Oklahoma Heart Hospital receive best practice aspirin therapy within 24 hours of diagnosis. The average rate statewide is 86 percent.
  
  

 

• Beta blocker prescription
  The National Acute Myocardial Infarction Project shows beta blocker prescribed at discharge decreases morbidity and mortality associated with heart attack. Currently, 100 percent of eligible patients at Oklahoma Heart Hospital are prescribed beta blocker therapy upon discharge. The average rate statewide is 73 percent.
  
  
• Education to stop smoking
  Smoking has been identified as the single most preventable cause of death and disease in the United States. Patient education is a priority at Oklahoma Heart Hospital. This includes teaching patients to stop smoking. Patients who smoke are given information to help them kick the habit. Every smoking patient is identified on admission and provided with smoking cessation information prior to leaving the hospital.

Critical timing

From the emergency room to the cath lab to the operating room, it's only 45 minutes. The design of the Oklahoma Heart Hospital creates a critical path, which ensures that, from the time you step into the emergency room to the time you are treated, nothing is lost. That alone is crucial considering that the national average time from the ER to surgery is more than two hours. Here, it’s 45 minutes. That’s what a hospital, built from the ground up with a complete focus on heart care, can do to make the difference.