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Heart patients treated by non-cardiologists less likely to receive medications

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14.01.2005

Patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) are less likely to be discharged from the hospital with a prescription for an ACE inhibitor and other recommended medications if they are treated by a non-cardiologist, according to a study written by pharmacists at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and published January 15 in the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy. Beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors, and aldosterone antagonists have been shown to significantly decrease morbidity and mortality and are among the medications recommended by the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA) to treat CHF, which affects nearly 5 million Americans.

Prescribing differences were demonstrated for several key medications, including:

• ACE inhibitor (prescribed for 61 percent of patients upon discharge by cardiologists versus 35 percent by non-cardiologists)
• Beta-blocker (prescribed for 65 percent of patients upon discharge by a cardiologist versus 32 percent by non-cardiologists)
• Aldosterone antagonist (prescribed for 17 percent of patients upon discharge by a cardiologist versus 7 percent by non-cardiologists)

The study also found that cardiologists are more likely to admit a CHF patient to the Intensive Care Unit and order diagnostic tests, including chest x-rays, electrocardiograms, nuclear medicine tests, cardiac catheterizations, and stress tests, without significantly increasing a patient’s length of stay.

Study authors urge patients to take an active role in their treatment and ask about available medications. "Furthermore, patients or their family members should ask to speak to the hospital pharmacist whenever they have questions about their medicine," explains Jean A. Patel, Pharm. D., clinical pharmacist at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and lead author of the study.

The study was co-authored by Michael A. Fotis, B.S. Pharm, manager of drug information service at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

About ASHP

For more than 60 years, ASHP has helped pharmacists who practice in hospitals and health systems improve medication use and enhance patient safety. The Society’s 30,000 members include pharmacists and pharmacy technicians who practice in inpatient, outpatient, home-care, and long-term-care settings, as well as pharmacy students. For more information about the wide array of ASHP activities and the many ways in which pharmacists help people make the best use of medicines, visit ASHP’s Web site, www.ashp.org, or its consumer Web site, www.SafeMedication.com.

About Northwestern Memorial Hospital

Northwestern Memorial Hospital (NMH) is one of the country’s premier academic medical centers and is the primary teaching hospital of Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. Northwestern Memorial and its Prentice Women’s Hospital have 720 beds and more than 1,200 affiliated physicians and 5,000 employees. Providing care in a state-of-the-art facility, the hospital is recognized for its outstanding clinical and surgical advancements in such areas as cardiothoracic and vascular care, gastroenterology, neurology and neurosurgery, oncology, organ and bone marrow transplantation, and women’s health. Northwestern Memorial was ranked as the nation’s 5th best hospital by the 2002 Consumer Checkbook survey of the nation’s physicians and is listed in eight specialties in this year’s US News & World Report’s issue of "America’s Best Hospitals." NMH is also cited as one of the "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers" by Working Mother magazine and has been chosen by Chicagoans year after year as their "most preferred hospital" in National Research Corporation’s annual survey.

Patty Keiler | Source: EurekAlert!
Further information: www.nmh.org
www.ashp.org
www.SafeMedication.com

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