patients arrive at non-PCI hospitals they will stay on the EMS stretcher with paramedics in attendance while a determination is made as to whether or not the patient will be transferred. For walk-in STEMI patients at non-PCI hospitals, EMS calls to transfer the patient to a PCI hospital should be handled with the same urgency as a 9-1-1 call. EMS-to-balloon (E2B) Although incorporating a prehospital 12 lead ECG into critical pathways for STEMI patients is listed as an optional strategy by the D2B Alliance, the fastest median door-to-balloon times have been achieved by hospitals with paramedics who perform 12 lead ECGs in the field. EMS can play a key role in reducing the first-medical-contact-to-balloon time, sometimes referred to as EMS-to-balloon (E2B) time, by performing a 12 lead ECG in the field and using this information to triage the patient to the most appropriate medical facility. Depending on how the prehospital 12 lead ECG program is structured, the 12 lead ECG can be transmitted to the receiving hospital for physician interpretation, interpreted on-site by appropriately trained paramedics, or interpreted on-site by paramedics with the help of computerized interpretive algorithms. Some EMS systems utilize a combination of all three methods. Prior notification of an inbound STEMI patient enables time saving decisions to be made prior to the patient's arrival. This may include a "cardiac alert" or "STEMI alert" that calls in off duty personnel in areas where the cardiac cath lab is not staffed 24 hours a day. The 30-30-30 rule takes the goal of achieving a 90-minute door-to-balloon time and divides it into three equal time segments. Each STEMI care provider (EMS, the emergency department, and the cardiac cath lab) has 30 minutes to complete its assigned tasks and seamlessly "hand off" the STEMI patient to the next provider. In some locations, the emergency department may be bypassed altogether. Common themes in hospitals achieving rapid door-to-balloon times Bradley et al. (Circulation 2006) performed a qualitative analysis of 11 hospitals in the National Registry of Myocardial Infarction that had median door-to-balloon times = or < 90 minutes. They identified 8 themes that were present in all 11 hospitals: An explicit goal of reducing door-to-balloon times Visible support of senior management Innovative, standardized protocols Flexibility in implementing standardized protocols Uncompromising individual clinical leaders Collaborative interdisciplinary teams Data feedback to monitor progress and identify problems or successes Organizational culture that fostered persistence despite challenges