Free kit helps prevent stroke
December 1, 2000 2 minutes read
Free kit helps prevent stroke
Too few patients receive preventive care
Atrial fibrillation (AF) causes 80,000 strokes each year in the United States. National results on hospital performance for proper stroke prevention care in Medicare patients are dismal, according to a recent Journal of the American Medical Association article.
But the National Coalition for Stroke Prevention Awareness (NCSPA) in Lisle, IL, is working to improve the nation’s record on caring for those at-risk for stroke, and case managers can play a vital role by putting NCSPA’s stroke education tools in the hands of physicians caring for their clients with AF.
"Through the use of our quality enhancement tools, physicians across the country have improved the number of patients receiving the best measures to prevent stroke," notes Melba Moore, executive director of NCSPA. In fact, NCSPA has found that in Illinois, where its Atrial Fibrillation Prevention Guide (AFP) and Tool Box are in use, proper treatment of AF has improved from 55% to 67% in the past two years.
AF is the most common persistent cardiac arrhythmia, affecting more than 2 million Americans. The AFP guide to preventing strokes and lowering health risks in AF patients includes a quick reference for physicians with consensus recommendations for patients who are at risk for stroke.
"The quick reference guide can easily be placed in the charts of patients who are identified as being at risk for stroke so that physicians can be sure to address the issues when meeting with the patient," says Bruce Steffens, MD, a family physician in Illinois who helped develop the AFP guide.
A national study of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries found that nearly half left the hospital without proper medications and follow-up instructions.1 "The JAMA article indicates that too many patients are leaving the hospital without optimal stroke prevention therapy," says Moore. "We are hopeful that NCSPA’s outreach efforts with our AFP Guide and Tool Box can bring future improvement to every state."
The tool box helps health care organizations evaluate the progress of their providers in screening all patients for stroke risk. Moore says the tool box is easily adapted to design an appropriate continuous quality improvement process to bring optimal stroke prevention to each patient at risk in any health care organization.
The tool box can be downloaded at no charge by visiting www.ncspausa.org.
Reference
1. Jencks SF, Cuerdon T, Burwen DR, et al. Quality of medical care delivered to Medicare beneficiaries. JAMA 2000; 284:1,670-1,676.
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