Heart Failure
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Arkansas Data
Heart Failure
Overview
Across the U.S. each year, heart failure accounts for more than 700,000 Medicare beneficiary hospitalizations. In Arkansas, HF discharges reached almost 10,000 in 2001. These numbers reflect a dramatic increase in heart failure for our aging population. In an effort to reduce mortality and morbidity of these patients, the National Heart Failure Project focuses on the assessment and management of left ventricular systolic dysfunction. Improvement in the delivery of comprehensive discharge instructions is also believed to improve management and reduce re-admissions.
Hospital performance on selected HF measures is now being reported as an “appropriate care measure,” or ACM. ACMs reflect the percentage of patients who received all the recognized components of care for a specific condition. High performance on several components of care combined with low performance on a single element can result in a low score on that ACM.
Indicators
- Increase the provision of comprehensive discharge instructions to hospitalized patients.
- Increase the use of appropriate diagnostic tests to evaluate left ventricular systolic function (LVS) in heart failure.
- Increase the use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI/ARB) for heart failure patients with a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) less than 40 percent.
- Increase the provision of smoking cessation counseling during hospitalization.
Specifications manual (QualityNet Web site)
