Cardiovascular diseases are a leading cause of death in Europe. Outcomes in terms of mortality and health equity in the management of patients with ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) are influenced by health care service organization. The main aim of the present study was to examine the impact of the new organizational model of the Veneto Region's network for Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) to facilitate primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) on STEMI, and its efficacy in reducing health inequities. A retrospective cohort study was conducted on HDRs in the Veneto Region for the period 2007⁻2016, analyzing 65,261 hospitalizations for AMI. The proportion of patients with STEMI treated with PCI within 24 h increased significantly for men and women, and was statistically much higher for patients over 75 years of age (APC, 75⁻84: 9.8; >85: 12.5) than for younger patients (APC, <45: 3.3; 45⁻64: 4.9), with no difference relating to citizenship. The reduction in in-hospital, STEMI-related mortality was only statistically significant for patients aged 75⁻84 (APC: -3.0 [-4.5;-1.6]), and for Italians (APC: -1.9 [-3.2;-0.6]). Multivariate analyses confirmed a reduction in the disparities between socio-demographic categories. Although the new network improved the care process and reduced health care disparities in all subgroups, these efforts did not result in the expected survival benefit in all patient subgroups.
Keywords: health care research; health inequities; hospital management; quality assurance.