The HAS-Choice study: Utilizing the HEART score, an ADP, and shared decision-making to decrease admissions in chest pain patients

Abstract Objective The HAS-Choice pathway utilizes the HEART Score, an accelerated diagnostic protocol (ADP), and shared decision-making using a visual aid in the evaluation of chest pain patients. We seek to determine if our intervention can improve resource utilization in a community emergency department (ED) setting while maintaining safe patient care. Methods This was a single-center prospective cohort study with historical that included ED patients ≥21 years old presenting with a primary complaint of chest pain in two time periods. The primary outcome was patient disposition. Secondary outcomes focused on 30-day ED bounce back and major adverse cardiac events (MACE). We used multivariate logistic regression to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and its 95% confidence interval (CI). Results In the pre-implementation period, the unadjusted disposition to inpatient, observation and discharge was 6.5%, 49.1% and 44.4%, respectively, whereas in the post period, the disposition was 4.8%, 41.5% and 53.7%, respectively (chi-square p p p Conclusion Our study suggests that implementation of a shared decision-making tool that integrates an ADP and the HEART score can safely decrease hospital admissions without an increase in MACE.