Door-to-balloon time can be used as a quality measure for hospitals in their level of excellence in caring for patients with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). It can also be used as a conceptual framework for thinking about quality improvement, differences between outcomes-focused and process-focused quality programs.

Congenital heart disease contributes to more than 30 percent of infant mortality in the U.S., so time is essential in diagnosing and treating these conditions in newborns. However, most hospitals do not have pediatric cardiac specialists on staff who can diagnose and suggest courses of treatment, which is why telecardiology has bloomed in this field.

With the healthcare industry striving for greater efficiency at virtually every level, it shouldn’t be a surprise that hospitals and clinics are increasingly turning to manage patients with implantable cardiac devices remotely, including implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs), cardiac resynchronization therapy-defibrillators (CRT-Ds) and pacemakers.