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AHRQ study: Nurse-led care benefits HF patients
An Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality-funded study published in the Aug. 15 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine indicates that patients with heart failure whose care was directed by nurse managers could perform everyday activities better and had fewer hospitalizations than patients who self-managed their care. Patients from four Harlem, NY, hospitals were included in the study; 127 were assigned to nurse management, and 127 were assigned to usual care. Nurse managers counseled patients on the signs and symptoms of heart failure, benefits of a low-salt diet, and the importance of taking prescribed medications. They also arranged any medication changes and tests with the patients' clinicians.
Patients in the usual care group received federal consumer guidelines for managing their condition but no other intervention. At 12 months, nurse management patients had had fewer hospitalizations and better functioning than usual care patients. After 12 months, when the nurses were no longer counseling the patients, researchers found that the nurse-led patients' functioning began decreasing at a rate similar to that of patients who had received no counseling at all.
"This nurse-led program made a significant difference in the everyday lives of heart failure patients. With the nurses' guidance, patients were better able to perform routine activities and were hospitalized less," according to lead author Jane Sisk, PhD, of Mount Sinai School of Medicine. "These results could help providers improve care for patients in other minority communities."
McKesson winners named
The 2006 AHA McKesson Quest for Quality Prize winner and merit winners were announced in the October issue of the Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety. The winner was Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, and merit winners were Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women and Bronson Methodist Hospital.
Each hospital described how it redesigned the delivery of patient care to ensure sustainable improvement in quality and patient safety and aligned its strategic goals with the Institute of Medicine's six quality aims. To achieve the aim of patient-centeredness, for example, Cincinnati Children's has family members and patients participate at all levels of the organization, from the hospital's family advisory council to unit-based inpatient teams and has "family faculty" who teach pediatric residents and orient new employees.
An Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality-funded study indicates that patients with heart failure whose care was directed by nurse managers could perform everyday activities better and had fewer hospitalizations than patients who self-managed their care.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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