The "90 Minute" Performance Improvement Team

After learning of the '90 minute' standard of care for providing definitive treatment for cardiac patients, the team was charged with making recommendations to reach the '90 minute' goal. Records from 2006 found that in some instances it took as long as 7.5 hours to get patients from the emergency department door to the cardiac care center door.

The hospital examined ED arrival times, ECG and EKG times, ED to Cath Labs transfer times and balloon times to develop strategies to reduce the timeframes and improve care for both ground and helicopter EMS transports.

Through continued process improvement, the team improved the door-to-balloon time to an average of 115 minutes in 2012 with a best time of 34 minutes. Their record for ED door-to-balloon time (or total perfusion time) is 106 minutes traveling by ground and 107 minutes traveling by air. Work continues to meet the 90-minute goal.

This case study is part of the Illinois Hospital Association's annual quality awards. Each year, IHA recognizes and celebrates the achievements of Illinois hospitals in continually improving and transforming health care in the state. These hospitals are improving health by striving to achieve the Triple Aim--improving the patient experience of care (including quality and satisfaction); improving the health of populations; and reducing the per capita cost of health care.

Award recipients achieve measurable and meaningful progress in providing care that is:

• Safe
• Timely
• Effective
• Efficient
• Equitable
• Patient-centered

(The Institute of Medicine's six aims for improvement.)