Video

Dr Amar Bhakta Explains a New Pathway to Prevent Heart Failure Readmissions

A new pathway uses a multidisciplinary team to help reduce 30-day heart failure readmissions, explained Amar Bhakta, MD, of Rush University Medical Center.

A new pathway uses a multidisciplinary team to help reduce 30-day heart failure readmissions, explained Amar Bhakta, MD, of Rush University Medical Center.

Transcript

What was the pathway to prevent heart failure readmissions that you presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions?

This pathway came about just because with the increase in healthcare costs, ways to reduce healthcare costs, especially with heart failure readmissions, I think what we found was we were able to reduce it if we developed a multidisciplinary team. And using that team over a period of 6 months, we found that we were able to reduce heart failure 30-day readmissions from 22% down to 16%.

Who are the team members in the multidisciplinary pathway and what were their roles?

The multidisciplinary team included a heart failure specialist, other physicians, pharmacists, social workers, nurses, and nurse practitioners. We designed a pathway from inpatient admission all the way up to discharge and then beyond discharge, as well, and outpatient setting, including following up with a nurse practitioner, a heart failure nurse practitioner specialist, within 7 days, and then with their PCP within 3 weeks.

Related Videos
Marla Black Morgan, MD, Phoebe Neurology Associates
Toby Maher, MD, PhD, professor of clinical medicine, Keck School of Medicine at USC
Nini Wu, MD, Navista
Matthew Viggiano, MD, internal medicine resident, Temple University Hospital
Krunal Patel, MD, pulmonary and critical care fellow, Temple University Hospital
M. Bradley Drummond, MD, MHS, professor of medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Sanjay Ramakrishnan, MD, senior lecturer, University of Western Australia
Michael Goulet, DO, pulmonary and critical care fellow, Temple University Hospital
Tom Belmon, CAP, GPBCH
Tom Belmont
Related Content
AJMC Managed Markets Network Logo
CH LogoCenter for Biosimilars Logo