The effective management of patients with congestive heart failure in long term home care setting s is important in reducing rehospitalization , emergency department visits and improving quality of life .
Congestive heart failure results in clinical signs of edema , shortness of breath , and decreased quality of life .
Telehealth interventions following hospital discharge in various setting s have been reported in the published literature as having an impact on decreasing emergency department visits , rehospitalization and quality of life .
An intervention for VA patients with congestive heart failure.
OBJECTIVE To assess the effect of a telephone intervention to improve quality of life among patients with congestive heart failure ( CHF ) . STUDY DESIGN Prospect i ve r and omized study . METHODS Single-site recruitment of 458 patients using Veterans Health Administration care into a r and omized controlled trial with a 1-year preintervention data collection period and a 1-year intervention and follow-up period . To compensate for imbalanced study groups , propensity scores were included in adjusted models of quality of life , satisfaction with care , inpatient utilization , survival , and costs of care . RESULTS Patients aged 45 to 95 years participated in the study ; 22 % were of Hispanic race/ethnicity , and 7 % were African American . All but 5 were male , consistent with the older population among veterans . At baseline , 40 % were in Goldman Specific Activity Scale class I , 42 % were in class III , 6 % were in class II or IV , and 12 % were unclassified . Patients scored a mean ( SD ) of 14 ( 1.5 ) points below the norm on the physical component score . After the yearlong intervention , no differences in clinical outcomes were noted between the intervention group and the control group . The CHF-related costs were higher for the intervention group , as were overall costs that included the cost of the intervention . Intervention group patients reported better compliance with weight monitoring and exercise recommendations . CONCLUSIONS A risk-stratified intervention for patients with CHF result ed in potential behavioral improvements but no survival benefit . A high-cost high-intensity intervention may be required to improve survival for patients with CHF . Inclusion of the costs of interventions is recommended for future research ers
The effective management of patients with congestive heart failure in long term home care setting s is important in reducing rehospitalization , emergency department visits and improving quality of life .
Congestive heart failure results in clinical signs of edema , shortness of breath , and decreased quality of life .
Telehealth interventions following hospital discharge in various setting s have been reported in the published literature as having an impact on decreasing emergency department visits , rehospitalization and quality of life .