ICare-ACS (Improving Care Processes for Patients With Suspected Acute Coronary Syndrome): A Study of Cross-System Implementation of a National Clinical Pathway.

Background: Efforts to safely reduce length of stay for emergency department patients with symptoms suggestive of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) have had mixed success. Few system-wide efforts affecting multiple hospital emergency departments have ever been evaluated. We evaluated the effectiveness of a nationwide implementation of clinical pathways for potential ACS in disparate hospitals.