Abstract 282: Impact of a Multi-Disciplinary Heart Failure Post-Discharge Management Clinic on Heart Failure Readmission Rates

Abstract

Background: Specialized heart failure (HF) clinics have demonstrated significant reduction in readmission rates. We evaluated a new multi-disciplinary HF clinic focused specifically on those recently discharged from a HF hospitalization. Methods: In this retrospective, cohort study, patients discharged with a primary HF diagnosis who attended the HF post-discharge clinic in 2010-11 were compared with historical controls from 2009. Within an average of six clinic visits, patients were seen by a physician assistant, a clinical pharmacist and a nurse case manager, with care overseen by an attending cardiologist. The clinic focused on identification of HF etiology and precipitating factors, medication titration to target doses, patient education, and medication adherence. The primary outcome was 90-day HF readmission, with secondary outcomes of mortality and a composite of 90-day HF readmission and mortality. A Cox proportional hazards model with adjustment for potentially confounding demographic and comorbidity variables was constructed to compare outcomes between groups. Results: Among the 277 patients (144 clinic and 133 control) in the study, 7.6% of patients in the clinic group and 23.3% of patients in the control group were readmitted for HF within 90 days (aHR 0.26; 95%CI=0.13-0.53 p = 0.0003;aRRR=74%; 95%CI= 47%-87%; ARR=15.7%;NNT=7). There were few deaths, but adjusted all-cause mortality was lower in the clinic group. For the composite of 90-day HF readmission and mortality, clinic patients had a lower risk (9.0% vs 28.6%; aHR 0.23; 95%CI=0.12-0.45; p<0.0001; aRRR=77%; 95%CI=55%-88%;ARR=19.6%;NNT=6). Conclusion: The multidisciplinary HF post-discharge clinic was associated with a significant reduction in 90-day HF readmission rates and all-cause mortality.