About the Society of
Chest Pain Centers
Mission
Founded in 1998, the Society of Chest Pain Centers (SCPC) is a non-profit international society dedicated to the belief that heart disease can be eliminated as the number one cause of death worldwide. Because we know that time translates to muscle during a heart emergency, the Society bridges EMS, emergency medicine, cardiology, nursing and other professions jointly focused upon improving timely, quality care for cardiac patients.
In order to disseminate best practices and processes in heart care the Society promotes protocol-based medicine and promotes the adoption of process improvement science by healthcare providers, ideally delivered through a Chest Pain Center model to address acute coronary syndrome and acute heart failure.
SCPC pursues our mission through the following services:
- Education
- Accreditation
- Best Practice Guidelines
- Process Improvement
- Collaboration with Professional Societies
- Membership
Education
The annual Congress of Chest Pain Centers is recognized as the premier educational forum for coronary healthcare professionals in the disciplines of chest pain management, ACS care, ADHF care, atrial fibrillation and observational medicine. It is a content rich educational opportunity for state of the art and practical education in coronary disease management, through more than 50 lectures, workshops, panel discussions and debates.
The Society also offers a series of regional seminars, specifically focused on the interests of chest pain center and acute heart failure clinicians and managers. These seminars provide information and techniques for implementing the Chest Pain Center (CPC) paradigm as an operational system for treatment of ACS, AHF, and atrial fibrillation patients. Attendees receive a Patient Care Took Kit including: pathways for care, model order forms, model patient instructions and other useful tools.
Resources on disease management and process improvement are available at no charge on our website.
Accreditation
In 2003, SCPC introduced Chest Pain Center Accreditation to provide facilities with the tools needed to implement protocol-driven processes to improve the care of the ACS patient. Chest Pain Center Accreditation is based on the science of process improvement, and unlike most compliance-based accreditations that set specifications and measure results; Chest Pain Center Accreditation takes a collegial and interactive approach to educate facilities regarding the best practices surrounding the care of the ACS patient.
The Society's accreditation process recognizes that each facility is unique based on its geographical location, number of licensed beds, population served, and internal and external resources. The facility must demonstrate it meets the accreditation criteria through supporting documentation and at the on-site visit by the review staff.
SCPC also offers consultation and education to help facilities further improve the care of the ACS patient which is inclusive in the accreditation criteria. Chest Pain Center Accreditation provides facilities with a road map to change processes that improve the care and efficiency of the ACS patient. Chest Pain Center Accreditation has been associated with better CMS heart failure and heart attack core measures (Ross et al, Am J Cardiol.2008; 120-124).
Heart Failure Accreditation was introduced in 2009 to address the processes of care for the short stay acute heart failure patient.
Best Practice Guidelines
SCPC takes a leading role in advancing the best practices of a wide spectrum of acute coronary diseases. SCPC often works directly in collaboration with the other medical societies in this pursuit. Recognizing the increasing burden that acute heart failure patients are creating for emergency departments, the Society has applied our expertise to creating best practices for the short stay acute heart failure patient. In June 2008, SCPC published the first set of guidelines for this population, Society of Chest Pain Center Recommendations for the Evaluation and Management of the Short Stay Acute Heart Failure Patient — A Report for the Society of Chest Pain Centers Acute Heart Failure Committee. These guidelines were followed by Heart Failure Accreditation, introduced in 2009.
SCPC has a continuing interest in other acute coronary diseases. The SCPC Atrial Fibrillation Committee is following a similar set of objectives as chest pain and acute heart failure.
Process Improvement
The Society believes that a fundamental tool to achieving best practices is the application of process improvement science methodologies. Process improvement is an on-going effort to identify and improve processes. SCPC endeavors to teach the practical application of these methods, as well as fundamentally incorporating them into the accreditation process. We believe that the benefits include streamlining patient throughput, reducing the time it takes for the patients to receive treatment, and decreasing costs by providing efficient and effective care.
Collaboration with Professional Societies
SCPC collaborates with other professional societies that promote best practices. SCPC is an official partner in such initiatives as: American College of Cardiology – Door to Balloon Alliance; American Heart Association – Mission Lifeline; American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association.
Membership
Membership in the Society of Chest Pain Centers is open to all who have an interest in reducing the morbidity and mortality of acute cardiovascular disease.