Evaluation of in-patient interventional cardiology.

The ACNP service in this study decreased the TA, TC, and LOS for patients transferred from outlying hospitals for cardiac catheterization or PCI. Patients on the ACNP service were provided prescription for appropriate discharge medications including beta-blockers, aspirin, ACE inhibitors, and lipid-lowering agents more often than patients on the housestaff service. Other aspects of care, including follow-up appointments and elements of patient education, were documented more often for patients on the ACNP interventional cardiac service and expand the role of ACNPs into other areas of acute-care cardiology practice.