Heart failure follow-up program improves outcomes, lowers costs
A program designed to provide rapid follow-up visits to heart failure patients after hospital discharge improved 30-day survival, reduced readmissions and saved money, according to a retrospective study published in the American Journal of Medical Quality.
Within a week of being discharged, patients were seen by a nurse practitioner, who would consult with University of Virginia Health System physicians, pharmacists and other team members to assess the patients’ symptoms and labs, adjust their medications and offer advice on lifestyle changes.
A total of 4,685 patients—average age 67.5; 43.9 percent female—were hospitalized during the study period, with 759 participating in the rapid follow-up program.
One-month mortality was 41 percent lower in the hospital-to-home intervention group (1.8 percent versus 3.1 percent), and there was also a 24 percent reduction in hospital readmission days.
“It's important to have a program that follows patients closely and especially during their most vulnerable period following a discharge from the hospital,” co-author Sula Mazimba, MD, MPH, a heart failure specialist at UVA, said in a press release. “In this regard, a discharge from the hospital is not really a final goodbye, but rather just another phase of their care.”
Notably, patients participating in the hospital-to-home program were sicker than the control group on average. Also, the savings from limiting readmissions were found to be about double the program’s staffing costs.
According to the release, heart failure care in the U.S. cost an estimated $31.7 billion in 2012 and is expected to more than double by 2030.
Daniel joined TriMed’s Chicago editorial team in 2017 as a Cardiovascular Business writer. He previously worked as a writer for daily newspapers in North Dakota and Indiana.