European and British Cardiology Guidelines Call for Optimal Medical Therapy First
Their System is More Effective for Less Money
“Both sets of guidelines (British and European) agree that optimal medical therapy (OMT) includes antianginal therapy and medications to prevent MI and stroke, including aspirin and statins”
In Europe and England, OMT is the way they do business. Rates of heart catheterization and opening arteries with bypasses and stents in the year after a heart attack are much lower there than our country. During the first year after a heart attack, 30% of American die and only 20% of Europeans die. The emphasis on OMT in Europe saves lives and costs much less as I have spelled out in the last two posts.
Even so, the Europeans are not doing as well we could do with OMT. OMT is a product that can produced much more reliably by a highly systematic approach. “First, for optimal medical therapy to be achieved, it must be imbedded in the trial design with strict protocols and plans for medication introduction, response evaluation, and changes, where necessary. Second, teams must be well trained” These investigators used the equivalent of 40 mg of atorvastatin. 95.5% of their patients took the stain and tolerated it well. Teams of nurses and pharmacists are especially effective.
Merely mentioning OMT in guidelines won’t get the job done. Teams, protocols, and population health tools coupled with robust clinical and financial analytics produce the best results. Quality is a systems property and consistently producing OMT requires a systems approach. The Europeans are way ahead. It is time to catch up.