New Tool Helps Physicians Identify Heart Attack Patients at Risk for Readmission

Researchers at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute (Murray, Utah) have developed a new tool to help physicians identify heart attack patients who are at risk of readmission, states a November 5, 2012, Intermountain Medical Center press release. The evidence-based tool, which provides a standard approach to assessing the likelihood that a heart attack patient will end up back in the hospital, can help medical providers reevaluate their care plans for these patients accordingly. The tool assesses 51 factors, including age, gender, common blood test information, other health problems, a history of depression, body mass index, and more. All this information is then compiled using a sophisticated computerized algorithm that calculates a risk score for each patient. Men are assigned a score between 0 and