Development of systems of care for ST-elevation myocardial infarction patients: evaluation and outcomes.

Summary The optimization of reperfusion therapy for STEMI pa-tients by developing coordinated care systems that includeincreased access to primary PCI offers a unique opportu-nity for collaboration in the delivery of care. If imple-mented correctly, such coordinated care systems have thepotential to improve outcomes substantially for patientswith acute myocardial infarction, which is still the leadingcause of morbidity and mortality in the United States.Although the opportunities for improvements are vast,these can only be achieved by tracking processes of careand outcomes with standardized quality metrics and care-ful external oversight. Ensuring that appropriate metricsare implemented in a transparent fashion should help toengage the numerous parties involved in STEMI care andwill foster the necessary trust and collaboration that suchambitious changes in care will demand. Disclosures Potential conflicts of interest for members of the writing groups forall sections of these conference proceedings are provided in adisclosure table included with the Executive Summary.