ABSTRACT
Background: : To help reduce heart failure (HF) readmissions and improve patient outcomes, the Madison VA established a Nurse Practitioner (NP) led Heart Failure Access Clinic (HFAC) to provide patient follow-up within 4-7 days of discharge. Studies have demonstrated medication discrepancies and delayed implementation of guideline-directed medical therapy as potential contributors to 30-day hospital readmission. Thus, a clinical pharmacy specialist (CPS) was incorporated into the Madison VA HFAC model to focus on optimizing medication regimens. The purpose of this project is to evaluate the impact of an interdisciplinary NP-CPS HFAC versus a NP HFAC on 30-day patient outcomes. Methodology: A retrospective chart review was completed for all patients hospitalized with a primary discharge diagnosis of acute on chronic systolic heart failure (ADHF) at the Madison VA and seen in a HFAC after discharge between November 2019 and November 2020. Patients with LVEF greater than 50% and those discharged to hospice were excluded. During the early period of the COVID-19 pandemic (mid-March through July 2020), patients were seen by the NP only. Outcomes and interventions for patients who attended an interdisciplinary NP-CPS HFAC were compared to those who attended the NP HFAC. Primary outcomes included rehospitalization, emergency department (ED) visit, and all-cause mortality at 30 days. Secondary outcomes included HF medication adjustments, identification of inappropriate medications in patients with HF, medication discrepancies, alerts to another provider for follow up, referral to another service, or referral to HF CPS for continued optimization of GDMT. Results: A total of 90 veterans met the inclusion criteria;43 were seen in the NP HFAC and 47 were seen in the interdisciplinary NP-CPS HFAC. The incidence of adverse 30-day outcomes in this patient cohort was very low (readmission 5.6%, ED visit 1.1%, death 1.1%) and there were no significant between group differences. Statistically significant secondary outcomes favoring the interdisciplinary HF clinic included identification of medication discrepancies (P=<0.0001), alert to another providers for follow up (P=0.004), as well as referral to the HF CPS for continued medication titration (P=0.02). Conclusion: Patients seen in the interdisciplinary NP-CPS HFAC and HP HFAC had similarly low 30-day hospital readmission rates, ED visits and mortality. Involvement of a CPS in the HFAC led to more frequent identification of medication discrepancies, notification to providers regarding medication issues, and referral to a HF CPS for timely GDMT optimization. Further analysis is warranted to assess the impact of these early CPS interventions on long-term patient outcomes.