SCAI: 10 tips for improving appropriate use in the cath lab

When cath lab directors began reviewing quarterly reports from the ACC-NCDR CathPCI Registry earlier this year, they might have been surprised to find a new benchmark: the ranking of PCI procedures as appropriate, inappropriate, or uncertain.

Shortly afterward an article appeared in the July 6 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association showing that, nationwide, about half of elective PCIs reported to the NCDR database could be deemed appropriate when judged against appropriate use criteria (AUC) published in 2009. Another 38 percent fell in to the “uncertain” category, and just under 12 percent were deemed “inappropriate.” (Among patients with acute indications, PCI was considered appropriate nearly 99 percent of the time.)

The Society of Coronary Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) has provided 10 opportunities for improving appropriate use in the cath lab, which are available here.

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