SCAI Launches Appropriate Use Criteria and Guidelines Application for Smartphones, Tablets and PCs

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Coronary revascularization appropriate use criteria (AUC) are now just a click away with the new SCAI Quality Improvement Toolkit (SCAI-QIT) AUC and Guidelines App, launched today by the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI).

"The new app is a calculator tool that makes it simple to access the AUC on heart revascularization without having to carry around printed documents," said Kalon Ho, MD, FSCAI, architect of the new tool. "While we don't intend for this tool to replace clinical judgment, we do hope it provides easier access to information that can guide the cath lab team's decisions."

Once members of the cardiac catheterization lab team input facts about a patient's case, the app will indicate where a "typical" case with those same characteristics would fall on a spectrum of "appropriate," "uncertain" or "inappropriate" for revascularization, as defined by the latest recommendations from leading cardiology societies, including SCAI and the American College of Cardiology Foundation, among others. Interventional cardiologists can then use that information to make recommendations for treatment of individual patients' symptoms and conditions. 

SCAI's AUC calculator app also recognizes that complete documentation is essential in today's healthcare environment. The app provides users with key data, including the relevant AUC scenario number, the indication score, a summary of the patient's case, and a link to a printer-friendly reporting sheet that can be added to the patient's chart.  

In coming months, SCAI will expand the app with new modules to help healthcare providers access interventional cardiology guidelines and additional AUC, including those for diagnostic cardiac catheterization. Plans are also underway for the app to include options for interfacing with electronic health records, further assisting providers with documentation.

The AUC and Guidelines App is part of the expanded SCAI-QIT developed by SCAI's Quality Improvement Committee to provide tools and resources that help both facilities and providers deliver consistent quality care to cath lab patients. Currently tools focus on guidelines and AUC, national database participation, inventory management, pre-procedure activities, operator and staff requirements, procedural quality, best practices as well as facility and environmental issues. Each tool is regularly updated to incorporate the latest guidelines, regulatory requirements and feedback from the many SCAI Quality Champions who are using the tools in cath labs around the world.

"The SCAI-QIT has become an important resource for continuously improving cath lab quality. Within months of its launch, interventional cardiologists began telling us how SCAI-QIT helps them identify and address opportunities for improvement," said SCAI Immediate Past President Christopher J. White, MD, FSCAI. "The new AUC calculator app is an example of a tool that will help cath lab teams easily access information supportive of high-quality, evidence-based patient care."

The new AUC calculator app can be accessed for free at www.SCAI-QIT.org. For more information on SCAI-QIT and its numerous tools, visit www.SCAI.org/QIT.   

Since it was launched in 2011, SCAI-QIT tools have been accessed more than 7,000 times, and 350 interventional cardiologists from around the world have become SCAI-QIT Quality Champions.

The SCAI-QIT was developed with founding support from Daiichi Sankyo, Inc., and Lilly USA, LLC, and support from AstraZeneca. The Society gratefully acknowledges this support while taking sole responsibility for all content developed and disseminated through this effort.

About SCAI
Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions is a 4,000-member professional organization representing invasive and interventional cardiologists in approximately 70 nations. SCAI's mission is to promote excellence in invasive and interventional cardiovascular medicine through physician education and representation, and advancement of quality standards to enhance patient care. SCAI's patient education program, Seconds Count, offers comprehensive information about cardiovascular disease. For more information about SCAI and Seconds Count, visit www.scai.org or www.SecondsCount.org.

SOURCE Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI)