AHA issues compendium of appropriate use toolkits

The AHA’s Physician Leadership Forum and Hospitals in Pursuit of Excellence initiative today released a compendium of their toolkits to help hospital leaders, clinicians and patients examine the appropriate use of medical resources in five key areas: blood management, antimicrobial stewardship, ambulatory care-sensitive conditions, elective percutaneous coronary intervention, and aligning treatment with patient priorities for use of the intensive care unit. The toolkits were developed with a broad group of national organizations and content experts based on a 2013 AHA white paper on reducing the use of non-beneficial services while improving health care overall. In an AHA Stat blog post, AHA Chief Medical Officer John Combes, M.D., encouraged hospitals to use the compendium and its discussion guide to explore the issue with their boards, medical staff and community leaders. To access the compendium, visit www.aha.org/appropriateuse.