Socialized medicine is apparently never an exact science.
According to a new study conducted by researchers at the Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, York University, and University Health Network (UHN), the quality of cardiac rehabilitation programs across Canada is strong but with specific areas now identified as needing further enhancement to improve patient outcomes.
The study, to be published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, measured 14 key quality indicators in 10 cardiac rehabilitation programs across Canada and assessed more than 5,500 cardiac patients.
A UHN news release notes that the criteria examined included: accessibility, wait times, referrals, secondary prevention, behavior changes and psychosocial measures. The results of the study found that cardiac rehabilitation programs are successful in the following areas: assessing patients’ body composition (85%), measuring blood pressure (90%), increasing exercise capacity (68%), and offering cessation therapy to patients who smoke (61%).
