The authors describe a partnership between nurses and physicians in a unique collaborative to improve quality of care and reduce vascular complications after PCIs through aggressive collection of data and timely sharing of risk-adjusted data.

When most nurses think of caring for a patient who has had a percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), they usually expect a straightforward recovery after the procedure. Thousands of coronary revascularizations are done via various techniques involving balloons, stents, and devices to remove plaque and thrombus. These procedures are generally known as PCIs. After PCIs, nurses monitor vital signs, integrity of the groin site, and circulation in the extremities, and they watch for any chest pain after the procedure, all while maintaining the patient with a period of flat bed rest, drug infusions, fluid intake, and monitoring of urine output.

Most patients walk successfully after the prescribed bed rest, are given instructions on self-care, and are...

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