Abstract 134: Implementation of Home-Based Cardiac Rehabilitation in the VA

Abstract

Objective: Referral to cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is one of nine performance measures for patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD), but fewer than 20% of eligible patients participate in the United States. Home-based CR programs (available in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada) have similar effects on morbidity and mortality as traditional (facility-based) CR, but they are not currently available or reimbursed in the US. We sought to determine whether implementing home-based programs could increase CR participation among patients with IHD. Methods: Using electronic health records from 134 VA medical centers, we identified 106,277 veterans hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction, percutaneous coronary intervention or coronary artery bypass grafting between 2010 and 2015. We compared the proportion of eligible patients who participated in CR at 13 VA hospitals that offered referral to either home-based CR or facility-based CR vs. 121 VA hospitals that offered referral to only facility-based CR (usual care). Results: The number of VA medical centers offering home-based CR increased from 2 in 2010 to 13 in 2015. Among the 20,949 eligible patients hospitalized at VA medical centers that implemented home-based CR between 2010 and 2015, CR participation increased from 11% to 26% (Figure). Among the 85,328 eligible patients hospitalized at VA medical centers that did not offer home-based CR, CR participation increased from only 8% to 11%. Conclusion: Among eligible patients with IHD, participation in CR more than doubled at VA medical centers that implemented home-based CR programs between 2010 and 2015, whereas participation increased by only 3% at VA medical centers that did not implement home-based CR programs. Home-based CR is an effective way of engaging patients who may otherwise decline to participate in CR.