Stony Brook cardiovascular imaging expert, Michael Poon, MD, was nationally recognized with the 2013 “Minnies” Award in the Scientific Paper of the Year category for his study showing that use of computed tomography (CT) reduces healthcare costs.
Stony Brook cardiovascular imaging expert, Michael Poon, MD, was nationally recognized by his peers when he was awarded the 2013 “Minnies” Award in the Scientific Paper of the Year category for his study showing that use of computed tomography (CT) reduces healthcare costs by enabling better triage of patients with chest pain presenting to the Emergency Department.
Since 1999, the “Minnies” awards have provided a forum for radiology professionals nationally on the Auntminnie.com website to acknowledge the contributions of their peers in the field of medical imaging. Award candidates are nominated by members of the website and selected by a panel of experts in the field through two rounds of voting. There are 15 award categories, and Dr. Poon’s category of Scientific Paper of the Year is the only category to highlight a journal research paper.
The paper, “Associations Between Routine Coronary Computed Tomographic Angiography and Reduced Unnecessary Hospital Admissions, Length of Stay, Recidivism Rates, and Invasive Coronary Angiography In the Emergency Department Triage of Chest Pain,” was published in the August 6, 2013, issue of the Journal of American College of Cardiology. The study reveals that the use of coronary computed tomographic angiography (CCTA) led to fewer hospital admissions and shorter Emergency Department (ED) stays. This practice protocol has been adopted permanently into the standard of care at Stony Brook Medicine.
Stony Brook cardiovascular imaging expert, Michael Poon, MD, was nationally recognized by his peers when he was awarded the 2013 “Minnies” Award in the Scientific Paper of the Year category for his study showing that use of computed tomography (CT) reduces healthcare costs by enabling better triage of patients with chest pain presenting to the Emergency Department.
In the study, a research team led by Dr. Poon, Professor of Radiology, Medicine and Emergency Medicine, Director of Advanced Cardiovascular Imaging, and Director of the Dalio Center of Cardiovascular Wellness and Preventive Research at Stony Brook Medicine, compared matched cohorts of nearly 900 patients presenting with chest pain to the ED. Half of the patients received standard of care (mostly observation), while the other half were evaluated with CCTA and either discharged if they had no symptoms or admitted.
Dr. Poon and colleagues found that patients who received standard of care were 5.5 times more likely to be admitted to the hospital than those who got CCTA scans, and hospital stays for the standard-care group were 1.6 times longer. Also, the CCTA patients had lower rates of returning to the ED with chest pain.
The paper indicates that using CCTA to triage chest pain patients could ultimately save the healthcare system millions of dollars.
“I am pleased that radiology professionals recognize the importance of the study findings and why CCTA is favorable to triaging patients with chest pain, a process that saves enormous costs, time and unnecessary hospital admissions,” said Dr. Poon.
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