Interorganizational Collaboration in Emergency Cardiovascular Care.
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abstract
BACKGROUND: Interorganizational collaboration management theory contends that cooperation between distinct but related organizations can yield innovation and competitive advantage to the participating organization. Yet, it is unclear if a multi-institutional collaborative can improve quality outcomes across communities. METHODS: We developed a large regional collaborative network of 15 hospitals and 24 emergency medical service agencies surrounding Dallas, Texas, and collected patient-level data on treatment times for acute myocardial infarctions. Using a pre-/posttest research design, we applied median tests of differences to explore outcome changes between groups and over the 6-year period, using data extracted from participating hospital electronic health records. RESULTS: We analyzed temporal trends and changes in treatment times for 2302 patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction between the pre- and posttest groups. We found a statistically significant 19-minute median reduction in the key outcome metric (total ischemic time, the time difference between the patient's first reported symptoms and the definitive opening of the artery). This represents a 10.8% community-wide improvement over time. CONCLUSIONS: Interorganizational collaboration focused on quality improvement can impact population health across a community. This study provides a basis for broader understanding and participation by health care organizations in multi-institutional community change efforts.
published proceedings
Qual Manag Health Care
author list (cited authors)
Langabeer, J. R., Champagne-Langabeer, T., Helton, J. R., Segrest, W., Kash, B., DelliFraine, J., & Fowler, R.
citation count
4
complete list of authors
Langabeer, James R||Champagne-Langabeer, Tiffany||Helton, Jeffrey R||Segrest, Wendy||Kash, Bita||DelliFraine, Jami||Fowler, Raymond
