AUA and Nork Marash Medical Center Author a Study on Quality of Intensive Care

21-04-2006
The April 2006 issue of the peer-reviewed journal Asian Cardiovascular & Thoracic Annals presented findings from a study by lead author Lusine Abrahamyan, MD, MPH, which demonstrated that quality of care at Nork Marash Medical Center (NMMC) following coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery, measured in terms of post operative complications and ICU stays, are comparable to those reported by major international cardiac surgery centers. According to co-author and Surgical Consultant at NMMC Dr. Hrair Hovaguimian, “This article is an important step toward establishing systems for outcomes reporting in parallel with international standards.”

AUA/CHSR faculty Anahit Demirchyan, MD, MPH, and Michael Thompson, MS, DrPH, also co-authors noted, “The study reported here was a small part of a five-year privately funded collaborative project between the Center for Health Services Research and Development of the American University of Armenia (AUA/CHSR) and the Nork Marash Medical Center focused on assessing and improving the quality of care at NMMC.” Lead author Lusine Abrahamyan, now a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto, noted that “These results not only attest to the quality of care at NMMC, but also provide important insights for individual patient counseling.”

“AUA students, graduates and faculty working together with the Medical Staff of the Hospital undertook a thorough study and evaluation of all functions and procedures in the hospital with the express purpose of raising its standards to accepted international norms. To say that the Hospital and AUA achieved its goals is both an understatement and a tribute to all those who worked on the project. Their professional expertise and personal commitment has manifested itself in a higher standard of care, the direct beneficiary of which is each and every patient that enters the Hospital. My congratulations to them all,” added Mr. Edward Avedisian, who generously funded this project.