The impact of the HEART score on the prevalence of cardiac testing and patient outcomes in a rural emergency department.

Introduction: This study was conducted to examine the use of the HEART score for risk stratification of chest pain patients presenting to rural Ontario emergency departments (EDs), assessing both its validity in a rural context and its utility in health-care resource management.

Methods: This study was a retrospective chart review of adult patients presenting to the ED with chest pain. The HEART score was assessed for its ability to risk-stratify patients (high, moderate and low) in terms of the likelihood of a major adverse cardiac event (MACE) within 6 weeks.

Improving diabetes management with a patient portal: a qualitative study of diabetes self-management portal.

Background: Effective management and care of diabetes is crucial to reducing associated risks such as heart disease and kidney failure. With increasing access and use of the Internet, online chronic disease management is being explored as a means of providing patients with support and the necessary tools to monitor and manage their disease.

Objective: The objective of our study was to evaluate the experience of patients and providers using an online diabetes management portal for patients.