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Published on: January 28, 2020
[A novel standard protocol of long-term follow-up shared with general practitioners after percutaneous coronary
Corrado Lettieri1, Paola Colombo2, Renato Rosiello1
1Dipartimento Cardio-Toraco-Vascolare, A.O. Carlo Poma, Mantova.
Insights
Standardized follow-up protocols after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) can reduce unnecessary cardiology tests and healthcare costs. Implementing a shared multidisciplinary approach optimizes patient care and resource utilization.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Health Services Research
Context:
- Follow-up care after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) lacks standardized protocols.
- Current practices involve frequent, often unnecessary, cardiology visits and tests.
Purpose:
- To assess the frequency and patterns of cardiology visits, echocardiograms, and stress tests post-PCI.
- To evaluate the impact of a multidisciplinary, shared long-term follow-up protocol on test appropriateness and healthcare costs.
Summary:
- An observational study analyzed 780 patients post-PCI, recording follow-up examinations over two years.
- Routine tests were common, particularly in low-risk patients. Applying a multidisciplinary protocol could reduce tests by 39% by merging visits and tests.
Impact:
- Unnecessary cardiological tests are frequently performed in long-term PCI follow-up.
- A shared, standard follow-up protocol can decrease unnecessary consultations and reduce healthcare expenditures.
Background:
Follow-up modalities for patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) are not well defined and standard protocols have been not established. The purpose of this study was to assess: a) the frequency and patterns of cardiology visits, echocardiographic examinations and stress tests after PCI in clinical practice; b) the impact of a multidisciplinary protocol of long-term follow-up after PCI shared with general practitioners on the appropriateness and reduction in healthcare costs.
Methods:
A total of 780 patients who underwent PCI in 2010 in two Italian hospitals were analyzed. The number of cardiological examinations (total, routine and clinically driven) performed during 2 years of follow-up were recorded and stratified according to the patient's risk profile. The latter was defined according to the multidisciplinary protocol. In addition, a simulation of the spread between provided and necessary tests (according to the multidisciplinary protocol) was carried out.
Results:
The mean number of cardiological examinations per patient provided during follow-up was 5, of which 4.4 were routine tests in asymptomatic patients. Routine tests were performed more frequently in patients at low risk compared to those at higher risk. By applying the multidisciplinary protocol to the case mix and by merging clinical visit and stress test or echocardiographic examination, a reduction of 0.87 tests per patient/year would be expected. This reduction would result in a 39% decrease in follow-up examinations in this specific clinical setting.
Conclusions:
This observational study demonstrates that unnecessary cardiological clinical and functional tests are often performed in long-term follow-up of patients submitted to PCI. The application of a standard protocol of follow-up shared with general practitioners may help avoiding unnecessary consultations, thus reducing healthcare costs.
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