BILLINGS - Billings Clinic recently received full accreditation from the Society of Chest Pain Centers. It may not mean much to hear, but doctors say you'll feel it in the increased standard of care.
"It's another one of those, would I want to go to a center where they've actually done some additional testing, proven some additional worth compared to their peers," said Dr. Tye Young, director of the hopitalist program at Billings Clinic.
The Chest Pain Center isn't a physical entity, it is a model of care used by the physicians and non-physician care providers treating cardiac patients.
"It gives us a very standardized approach and holds us accountable to meet standards for providing care here in Billings," said Dr. Young.
He added that to obtain the accreditation all the 40 some healthcare providers who would be hands on with possible cardiac patients have received additional education and training to treat and diagnosis heart conditions, and they must constantly prove themselves to maintain accreditation.
"We must show the patients that we've treated over the past year, two years, or four years, have all fallen within the expected parameters and that we haven't misdiagnosed a lot of people with non-cardiac disease that went home and later had a heart attack," said Dr. Young.
"They got me all fixed up," said Myrna West from her hospital bed.
It's for patients like Myrna, 69, who came into the emergency department just two days ago with severe chest pain. She was admitted, had a stent placed to restore blood flow to her heart muscle and is now heading home.
"I'm going to go on and live," said Myrna. "I'm going to go back and paint my house!"
"We're starting to talk more about value in care these days, not just did you take care of a patient, but did you actually have value in that care," said Dr. Young.
The Society of Chest Pain Centers is a non-profit international group that bridges cardiology and emergency medicine focused upon improving care for patients with sudden coronary syndromes and heart failure.