Barbara McLaughlin

TL;DR: Working with opinion leaders and providing performance feedback can accelerate adoption of some beneficial AMI therapies (eg, aspirin, beta-blockers), andSecular changes in knowledge and hospital protocols may extinguish outdated practices.

TL;DR: Use of lifesaving therapies for eligible patients with AMI is higher than previously reported, particularly for aspirin and thrombolytic use in nonelderly patients and increased adherence to AMI treatment guidelines is required for elderly patients and women.

TL;DR: Evolving in the use of significant opinion leaders is described and hospital quality improvement projects, undertaken by the Healthcare Education and Research Foundation, are used to illustrate the roles assumed by clinical opinion leaders.

TL;DR: This article evaluated a guideline-implementation intervention of clinician education by local opinion leaders and performance feedback to increase use of lifesaving drugs (aspirin and thrombolytics in eligible elderly patients, β-blockers in all eligible patients) for acute myocardial infarction (AMI), and decrease the use of potentially harmful therapy (prophylactic lidocaine).

TL;DR: Laroscopic operation seems to represent a significant advance in getting patients back to a normal life sooner and there was evidence of a learning curve; the more laparoscopic procedures a surgeon performed, the fewer the operative and general complications.