Task Shifting in Cardiac Catheterization to Sustain Physicians and Acute Coronary Syndrome Response Centers - Findings From the 2024 Japanese Circulation Society Chugoku-Shikoku Regional Survey

Takeshi Suetomi; Noriko Fukue; Mari Ishida; Makiko Taniyama; Natsuko Mukai-Yatagai; Takahiro Sakamoto; Tomoko Tamada; Tomomi Matsuura; Kazuaki Tanabe; Yukiko Nakano

doi:10.1253/circrep.CR-24-0100

Task Shifting in Cardiac Catheterization to Sustain Physicians and Acute Coronary Syndrome Response Centers - Findings From the 2024 Japanese Circulation Society Chugoku-Shikoku Regional Survey

Circ Rep. 2024 Oct 26;6(12):592-597. doi: 10.1253/circrep.CR-24-0100. eCollection 2024 Dec 10.

Authors

Takeshi Suetomi¹, Noriko Fukue^{1

2}, Mari Ishida³, Makiko Taniyama⁴, Natsuko Mukai-Yatagai⁵, Takahiro Sakamoto⁶, Tomoko Tamada⁷, Tomomi Matsuura⁸, Kazuaki Tanabe⁹, Yukiko Nakano¹⁰

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medicine and Clinical Science, Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine Yamaguchi Japan.
² Yamaguchi Prefectural Grand Medical Center Yamaguchi Japan.
³ Department of Cardiovascular Physiology and Medicine, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University Hiroshima Japan.
⁴ Department of General Medicine, Kurashiki Educational Division, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University Okayama Japan.
⁵ Department of Cardiology, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University Tottori Japan.
⁶ Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center Osaka Japan.
⁷ Cardiovascular Medicine, Kawasaki Medical University Okayama Japan.
⁸ Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Tokushima University Tokushima Japan.
⁹ Division of Cardiology, Faculty of Medicine, Shimane University Shimane Japan.
¹⁰ Department of Cardiology, Hiroshima University Hiroshima Japan.

Abstract

Background: Sustainability of the 24/7 acute coronary syndrome response system is at risk due to the Work Style Reform for physicians.

Methods and results: A survey of 93 facilities in Chugoku-Shikoku region found that 30% of facilities expected acute coronary syndrome services to be restricted due to the Work Style Reform. Approximately 35% had implemented task shifting, which reduced physicians' workload by 30% and improved team care.

Conclusions: Task shifting improved the working environment. However, various barriers to implementation were also identified. Further investigation is needed to achieve a balance between the Work Style Reform and sustainability of the acute coronary syndrome response system.

Keywords: Acute coronary syndrome (ACS); Diversity; Regional meeting; Task shifting.