Pre-Hospital ECG E-Transmission for Patients with Suspected Myocardial Infarction in the Highlands of Scotland

Gordon F. Rushworth, Charlie Bloe, H. Lesley Diack, Rachel Reilly, Calum Murray, Derek Stewart and Stephen J. Leslie
Additional contact information
Gordon F. Rushworth: Highland Clinical Research Facility, Centre for Health Science, Old Perth Road, Inverness IV2 3JH, UK
Charlie Bloe: Cardiac Unit, Raigmore Hospital, Old Perth Road, Inverness IV2 3UJ, UK
H. Lesley Diack: School of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, Robert Gordon University, Riverside East, Garthdee Road, Aberdeen AB10 7GJ, UK
Rachel Reilly: School of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, Robert Gordon University, Riverside East, Garthdee Road, Aberdeen AB10 7GJ, UK
Calum Murray: School of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, Robert Gordon University, Riverside East, Garthdee Road, Aberdeen AB10 7GJ, UK
Derek Stewart: School of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, Robert Gordon University, Riverside East, Garthdee Road, Aberdeen AB10 7GJ, UK
Stephen J. Leslie: Cardiac Unit, Raigmore Hospital, Old Perth Road, Inverness IV2 3UJ, UK

IJERPH, 2014, vol. 11, issue 2, 1-15

Abstract: Patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) require prompt treatment, best done by primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI). However, for patients unable to receive PPCI, immediate pre-hospital thrombolysis (PHT) is the best alternative. Evidence indicates that diagnostic and management support for staff increases the use of PHT. This study aimed to describe the patient demographics and management of patients, to determine any potential inter-area differences in referral rates to the ECG e-transmission service and to explore the views and experiences of key staff involved in ECG e-transmission within NHS Highland. Data from 2,025 patient episodes of ECG e-transmission identified a statistically significant geographical variation in ECG e-transmission and PHT delivery. Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) staff were more likely than GPs to deliver PHT overall, however, GPs were more likely to deliver in remote areas. Interviews with six Cardiac Care Unit (CCU) nurses and six SAS staff highlighted their positive views of ECG e-transmission, citing perceived benefits to patients and interprofessional relationships. Poor access to network signal was noted to be a barrier to engaging in the system. This study has demonstrated that a specialist triage service based on e-transmission of ECGs in patients with suspected STEMI can be implemented in a diverse geographical setting. Work is needed to ensure equity of the service for all patients.

Keywords: telehealthcare; telehealth; telecardiology; ECG; pre-hospital thrombolysis; cardiac triage (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/11/2/2346/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/11/2/2346/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:11:y:2014:i:2:p:2346-2360:d:33254

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().