CHOP Researchers Identify Knowledge Gaps in Evaluating Cath Lab Quality

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Researchers in the Cardiac Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have identified knowledge gaps in the metrics currently used to measure quality in pediatric/congenital cardiac catheterization laboratories (PCCLs). The findings were recently published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Interventions (JACC Cardiovasc Intervent).

In order to capture and assess potential PCCL quality metrics, the researchers took a three-pronged approach: they analyzed published peer-reviewed research on the topic, reviewed measures used by organizations involved in the measurement of quality and quality improvement, and surveyed PCCL cardiologists in the United States on their use of quality metrics.

The research team found that when it comes to measuring quality, the field has exclusively focused on safety and risk for adverse events and has not given the same attention to effectiveness, efficiency, timeliness, equity, and patient-centeredness. Even less attention has been paid to structures and processes, such as how many procedures are being performed and the staff makeup in the PCCL.

“Addressing the knowledge gaps identified in this study should be a priority for future research,” said Michael L. O’Byrne, MD, an attending interventional cardiologist in the Cardiac Center at CHOP and first author of the study. “Such research will require a novel approach, combining data about patient and procedure characteristics, hospital and practitioner characteristics, and outcomes, which will guide the development of new metrics that better capture quality.”

Read more about this research here.

Contact: Natalie Solimeo, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, 267-426-6246 or solimeon@chop.edu


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