COLUMBUS, Ohio, Feb. 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — The Healthcare Accreditation Colloquium announced today the first use of ST2, a new blood test for heart failure, as part of an accreditation process for hospitals. "Our work began in 2011," said Dr. Tony Joseph, Colloquium CEO. "We are proud of our member hospitals and heart failure experts that were able to see the value of this new blood test ahead of the crowd and be prepared to implement for the good of our patients once FDA clearance was achieved by Critical Diagnostics."
ST2 is a prognostic tool that has been shown to have predictive ability to identify those patients that are at the highest risk of short and long-term morbidity and mortality superior to other blood tests currently in use. ST2 has been included in over 100 peer-reviewed publications with over 36,000 patients studied. FDA cleared, ST2 Assay is now being deployed across the country at Healthcare Colloquium member hospitals.
As a hospital membership organization, the Colloquium is unique in that our heart failure expert members develop the accreditation criteria. This takes place in the Colloquium's Heart Failure Continuum of Care Model which is subdivided into four domains:
- Community
- Hospital
- Clinician
- Science
As healthcare moves more and more towards a structured approach to population management, the Colloquium's Heart Failure Continuum of Care Model addresses all stages of heart failure and is easily adaptable to accountable care organizations (ACOs). New blood tests like ST2 will play an important role by improving population risk stratification as well as guidance for clinical care paths. Individual patients will also benefit directly as more and more clinicians begin to use this new blood test. The Colloquium's Heart Failure Biomarker WorkGroup is the first national effort of its kind specifically focusing on the use of biomarkers in heart failure which is the only major cardiovascular diagnosis increasing in both incidence and prevalence.
As the Colloquium continues to develop the Continuum of Care Model for heart failure, we welcome Critical Diagnostics and other thought leaders into our membership.
The Healthcare Colloquium is the only accrediting body offering Heart Failure Institute® Accreditation. Heart Failure Institute® is a registered trademark owned by the Healthcare Accreditation Colloquium.
To learn more about ST2, go to .
For further information about the Colloquium's Model for Healthcare and the Heart Failure Continuum of Care, visit ColloquiumHealth.com.
Contact: Tony Joseph, MD
Chief Executive Officer
The Healthcare Accreditation Colloquium
3040 Riverside Drive, Suite 219
Columbus, Ohio 43221
614.545.3800