Within the last decade, health care providers have seen the emergence of numerous patient care guidelines that can be used to prevent or manage specific medical conditions. The American College of Cardiology (ACC) and American Heart Association (AHA) have issued guidelines for the management of patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). In November of 2002, at the annual scientific session of the AHA, researchers presented the results of the first study to show a direct relationship between inpatient mortality and the level of a hospital's compliance with these guidelines. It is hoped that this evidence of a reduction in AMI patient mortality will provide an incentive for all hospitals to improve their adherence to the ACC/AHA AMI guidelines.
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