Recent research reveals that cardiovascular patients can benefit when hospitals take a team-based care management approach to coordinate services, according to an article published by HealthIT Analytics. The piece looks at case studies that highlight programs that standardize protocols and improve communication between staff members. For example, the article highlights the success that Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh has had bringing cardiologists, pulmonologists, critical care specialists and radiologists to respond to pulmonary embolism (PE) cases. The team is activated when a diagnostic test reveals a patient has an acute PE. "Before this new team-based approach, there was no clear pathway, so many of the patients were not getting consistent, guideline-based care," Eric Bihler, D.O., a pulmonary and critical care medicine specialist at the organization, told the publication. "This led to substantial delays in therapy for those who had the most serious kind of PE that must be treated like a stroke or a heart attack, where a delay in care can be deadly." Article