Student Heart Failure Intervention Project: A Pilot Study of Population Analytics and Outreach

Autor: Anantharam Kalya, Gerard Hoatam, Arathi Gorur, Priya Radhakrishnan, William B. Reichert, Michael Leher, Anna Jones, Emily Schmidt
Rok vydání: 2015
Předmět:
Zdroj: Journal of Cardiac Failure. 21:S130
ISSN: 1071-9164
DOI: 10.1016/j.cardfail.2015.06.371
Popis: Introduction: Several studies have reported that up to 25% of patients hospitalized for heart failure (HF) are readmitted within 30 days of discharge. This confirms the need for patient education and innovative programs to promote adherence to physicians’ directives and self-reliant care. The objective of the SHIP (Student Heart Failure Intervention Project) quality improvement pilot was to identify high-risk patients in a local population and implement a “constant contact” program to improve chronic HF patients’ follow-through on independent self-care. Increased compliance with post-discharge and clinic instructions may ultimately reduce further hospitalizations. Methods: One hundred and ninety-eight systolic and diastolic HF patients were treated in our clinic between 06/2012 and 09/2014. Their charts were cross-referenced with hospital admission records. High-risk patients (n580) were defined by severity of HF symptoms and more than 15 clinic visits during the study period. Twelve patients (15%) were enrolled in SHIP. Medical students made weekly calls over 8 weeks (minimum 3 attempts weekly) to record the patients’ health statuses and reiterate the importance of adherence and maintenance of self-care. Each patient was given the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ) at the beginning and end of the study with a response rate of 44%. Results: MLHFQ responses indicated overall symptom improvement. Most patients (83%) had increased knowledge of their conditions; 87% reported symptom improvement. Three patients were lost to follow-up. No participants reported continuous compliance with physicians’ directives (recording weight and blood pressure daily; smoking cessation). Average call time decreased during the study. Table 1 summarizes other results. Conclusion: In this outcome-driven age of health care, traditional health care is increasingly being supplemented with innovative programs. Our constant contact program benefited high-risk HF patients and offered medical students greater exposure to population analytics and chronic disease management. An improvement was seen in most measured outcomes (symptoms, patients’ understanding and compliance, and admission rates), but the data were not statistically significant. Further project scaling will allow enough power for statistical analysis that was not possible for the measured outcomes. Once initial lifestyle changes are made, patients may need further motivational support to achieve long-term positive lifestyle changes.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
Externí odkaz: