What's the Best Way to Follow Patients with Heart Failure After Hospital Discharge?

Thirty-day readmission rates were similar after early telephone contact by nonphysicians and in-person primary care visits.

Individuals hospitalized with heart failure (HF) are frequently readmitted — so much so that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has focused on 30-day readmission after HF hospitalization in its Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program. Effective strategies to reduce readmission risk are scarce; hospitals and health systems have invested in early follow-up and care transition programs, hoping that the face validity of supporting individuals during the vulnerable posthospitalization period translates into meaningful results.

In a pragmatic randomized trial (NCT03524534), researchers studied the impact of early telephone contact after HF hospitalization in 2091 individuals (mean age, 78; 44% women; preserved ejection fraction, 56%) i…

Reviewing Author

Frederick A. Masoudi, MD, MSPH, FACC, FAHA

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardBristol Myers Squibb; CPC Clinical Research

Grant/Research SupportNational Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Editorial BoardsUpToDate; American College of Cardiology Self-Assessment Program (SAP)

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesAmerican College of Cardiology (Chair, Innovations Committee)