Rapid access cardiology--a nine year review

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Signal Acquisition, Score Interpretation, and Economics of a Non-Invasive Point-of-Care Test for Coronary Artery Disease
06:16

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Published on: August 9, 2024

M T Debney1, K F Fox

  • 1Imperial College NHS Healthcare Trust, Charing Cross Hospital, Fulham Palace Road, London, W6 8RF, UK. mikedebney@googlemail.com

QJM : Monthly Journal of the Association of Physicians
|October 7, 2011
PubMed

Insights

Demand for rapid access cardiology clinics, including chest pain and arrhythmia services, has steadily increased. The proportion of patients diagnosed with significant cardiac disease remains constant, indicating sustained efficiency in secondary care cardiology referrals.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Healthcare Services Research

Background:

  • Rapid access cardiology clinics offer timely assessment for chest pain, heart failure, and arrhythmia.
  • Longitudinal data on clinic attendances and diagnoses are limited, impacting understanding of their efficiency and primary care referral role.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze longitudinal data on attendances and diagnoses at rapid access cardiology clinics.
  • To evaluate the efficiency and role of these secondary care services for primary care referrals.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective analysis of attendance and diagnosis data from Charing Cross Hospital's rapid access clinics.
  • Data collected from April 2002 to March 2011 by nurse specialists and physicians.

Main Results:

  • 12,000 patients were seen over 9 years.
  • Increased demand for chest pain and arrhythmia clinics since 2007; stable demand for heart failure clinics.
  • Atrial fibrillation was the most common arrhythmia (15%); no significant change in the proportion of patients diagnosed with significant cardiac disease.

Conclusions:

  • Referral rates indicate high demand for rapid access cardiology services.
  • The model, based in secondary care, is efficient and accessible for general practitioners and patients.
  • Despite trends towards primary care, this secondary care model remains effective in the local area.
Abstract

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