Effectiveness and outcomes of a nurse practitioner-run chest pain evaluation unit.

Link to article at PubMed

Effectiveness and outcomes of a nurse practitioner-run chest pain evaluation unit.

J Am Assoc Nurse Pract. 2016 May 19;

Authors: Zhu Z, Islam S, Bergmann SR

Abstract
BACKGROUND: Every year, more than 5 million patients seek medical care for chest pain.
OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to evaluate test utilization and outcomes of a nurse practitioner (NP)-based chest pain unit and compare results to data previously reported from our institution.
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: The records from 814 consecutive patients with chest pain admitted to the NP-run unit were compared to the outcomes of 250 patients admitted to a separate hospitalist-run unit at a New York City hospital.
RESULTS: Forty-four percent of patients in the NP unit underwent stress myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) as the primary diagnostic test (compared to 22% in the hospitalist unit, p < .0001). The average length of stay was shorter for patients in the NP unit (2.7 ± 3.6 days compared to 3.9 ± 3.4 days, p < .0001). Additionally, the 90-day readmission rate was less for patients in the NP unit (2.7% vs. 3.9%, p < .0006).
CONCLUSIONS: An NP-run chest pain unit resulted in decreased length of stay and reduced readmission rates compared to a hospitalist-based unit.

PMID: 27193259 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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