Heart Failure and Remote Optimization of Therapies

Even today, many patients with heart failure (HF) are not treated with guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT). In a study using a nonrandomized design, investigators sought to determine whether a remote medication optimization program managed by patient navigators, nurses, and pharmacists, all with supervision by HF specialists, would increase the likelihood that patients were on GDMT.

Eligible patients had chronic HF and a left ventricular ejection fraction ≤40%. Patient navigators and pharmacists optimized treatment regimens. All patients received a home blood-pressure cuff and had laboratory tests within a week of dosage changes. During a mean follow-up of 141 days, navigators made a mean of 9 calls per patient, spent 4 hours per patie…