IMPRO

Background

Determining quickly and reliably whether patients with chest pain have coronary heart disease (CHD) can be a challenging task. Diagnosis in practice is often of great importance for further treatment and the well-being of patients.

German care systems in particular are criticized for using less efficient methods. New diagnostic options have recently been introduced into standard care and are the subject of a nationwide study funded by the Federal Joint Committee.

Design

This is a stepped-wedge trial (SWT) with a control phase and randomized transition to the intervention phase, conducted in 16 study centers, 300 practices and with several thousand patients nationwide. Charité Berlin has the overall management.

The practices take part in two consecutive phases:

Control phase: patients with chest pain who are suspected of having CHD are treated according to the usual procedure.
Intervention phase: Special training of the practices, application of an alternative method for CHD clarification and further treatment (sometimes including a cardio-CT).
At the end, both treatment methods will be compared with each other.

Aim

The aim is to investigate a new way of diagnosing and treating CHD. 

General practices are invited to participate in this important study.

The study offers general practice teams a unique opportunity to actively contribute to the improvement of CHD care in Germany. The results are directly relevant to practice and can significantly improve the care of CHD patients in Germany with structured treatment pathways at GP level.

Join in and become part of this pioneering research!