Date of Award

Spring 4-26-2014

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Public Administration (MPA)

Abstract

Chest pain is one of the most common ailments seen in emergency departments across the nation adding to the overcrowding dilemma seen in emergency departments today. Patients presenting with this complaint create a medical dilemma due to the vagueness of signs and symptoms related to the complaint. This vagueness creates not only a risk to the patient if misdiagnosed, but also a legal risk to the physician and healthcare organization if conservative steps are not taken to delve deeper into the complaint. As a result, these patients are often admitted for multiple days with increased medical costs, reduced reimbursement to the hospital and outcomes that are not always ideal and in alignment with cost. In efforts to reduce healthcare costs and improve quality patient outcomes, chest pain centers have developed and evolved across the nation to focus solely on this patient population. Presently Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento (SMCS) does not have a chest pain center designed around specific care to the patient presenting with a complaint of chest pain. This paper will examine the relationship between those health care organizations that use a chest pain center model to care for the chest pain patient and Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento. Primary research (financial data and average length of stay data) and Secondary research (articles, previous research, reports, statistics) will provide the necessary information to determine efficacy of the chest pain center model and if SMCS should adopt the model or continue with business as usual.

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