Regional intervention of stroke care to increase thrombolytic therapy for acute ischemic stroke the southeast Texas experience

Abstract

Background and Purpose-The aims of this study were to investigate the effect of an intervention to unblind data on r-tPA (recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator) administration and sharing data with chief executive officers of participating hospitals, on r-tPA administration rates postintervention and on potential healthcare cost savings implemented at 26 Southeast Texas Regional Advisory Council hospitals. Methods-Retrospective analysis of prospective data on thrombolytic therapy from 26 Southeast Texas Regional Advisory Council hospitals, collected between April 2014 and June 2016. The control (blinded) period (Q2-2014 to Q2-2015) was followed by unblinding (Q3-2015). Results-Intervention was associated with 21.1% increase in r-tPA administration rates, with 38.5% increase in r-tPA administration with door-to-needle time ≤60 minutes. An absolute increase in r-tPA administration of 2.1% was seen with an average lifetime cost savings of $3.6 million. Conclusions-Transparent regional data sharing was associated with improved r-tPA administration and healthcare cost savings.