ABSTRACT
The dilemma of the high cost of quality health care in a managed care environment for chronic disease populations has led to the development of a nurse-managed chronic care clinic that focuses on outpatient case management of chronic diseases beginning with chronic heart failure patients. The clinic provides advanced practice nurse management for heart failure patients in pharmacotherapy, education, counseling, dietary and lipid management, and exercise training via software management programs. The clinic is developing further management for comorbidity factors such as diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The history, development, and function of the clinic are reviewed.
Subject(s)
Disease Management , Heart Failure/nursing , Chronic Disease , Combined Modality Therapy , Continuity of Patient Care/economics , Costs and Cost Analysis , Heart Failure/economics , Humans , Nursing, Team/economicsABSTRACT
The Agency for Health Care Policy and Research Clinical Practice Guidelines on heart failure recommends that providers assess patients' health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and recommends using HRQOL information to modify treatment and guide patient and family teaching to facilitate adaptation to heart failure. This research column reviews eight studies that measured HRQOL as an outcome for patients with medically managed heart failure.
