Care Coordination
Improving Electrophysiology Lab Efficiency: Collaboration With Anesthesiology is Well Worth the Time
Journal Articles: Many of the efforts to improve laboratory efficiency require close collaboration with our colleagues in anesthesia. Osorio et al1 outlined a standardized anesthetic protocol that was designed with the intention of improving effectiveness of lesion formation during AF ablation while also improving efficiency and ensuring patient safety.
Guidelines/Clinical Documents: Guidelines document outlining best practices for the management of AFib.
Journal Articles: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is increasing in age-adjusted incidence and global prevalence, and it is associated with a number of adverse clinical and fiscal outcomes (Chugh et al, Circulation 2014;129:837, PMID 24345399). While treatment advances have improved clinical outcomes, existing AF care delivery processes typically are fragmented and disconnected. This lack of coordination frequently limits the achievement of high-quality, guideline-directed clinical outcomes (Deshmukh et al, Circulation 2013;128:2104, PMID 24061087).
Journal Articles: Pharmacists have a unique role and responsibility in an individual’s care, especially for those with chronic disease. Insights into how pharmacy fellows can be engaged to assess and improve guideline-concordant anticoagulation for atrial fibrillation (AF) were gathered from a quality improvement project sponsored by the Heart Rhythm Society, in collaboration with the University of Florida.
Journal Articles: In this issue of Heart Rhythm, we continue this quarterly feature highlighting developments and advances in quality improvement in the delivery of heart rhythm care. The current issue focuses on quality improvement surrounding the challenges created for heart rhythm care during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.