Comparison of Performance Achievement Award Recognition With Primary Stroke Center Certification for Acute Ischemic Stroke Care

Background Hospital certification and recognition programs represent 2 independent but commonly used systems to distinguish hospitals, yet they have not been directly compared. This study assessed acute ischemic stroke quality of care measure conformity by hospitals receiving Primary Stroke Center (PSC) certification and those receiving the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines‐Stroke (GWTG‐Stroke) Performance Achievement Award (PAA) recognition.

Methods and Results The patient and hospital characteristics as well as performance/quality measures for acute ischemic stroke from 1356 hospitals participating in the GWTG‐Stroke Program 2010–2012 were compared. Hospitals were classified as PAA+/PSC+ (hospitals n=410, patients n=169 302), PAA+/PSC− (n=415, n=129 454), PAA−/PSC+ (n=88, n=26 386), and PAA−/PSC− (n=443, n=75 565). Read More