Cardiac outcomes measurement developed
The Take Charge cardiopulmonary rehabilitation program at Columbia Ocala Medical Center in Ocala, FL, has been participating in a beta study for cardiopulmonary outcomes measurement system developed by Focus on Therapeutic Outcomes (FOTO), a Knoxville, TN, outcomes research and database service."It’s important for us to know that we are making a difference. It’s OK to say our patients love us, but we need something physical we can show the administration, payers, and referral sources. Everybody is getting a little pickier about spending money. We want to be able to show the difference we are making so that we can continue our program in the future," says Christine Wilson, RN, clinical coordinator for the program.
FOTO’s system includes the expanded SF-12, a patient-reported health status measurement system, as well as clinical measures such as body weight, cholesterol level, exercise frequency, smoking history, blood pressure, target heart rates, and motivation. The questionnaire is administered on admission and discharge.
The initial system, scheduled for release this spring, will be on optical scan forms which can be mailed or faxed to FOTO on a toll-free line.
[For more information on FOTO and its outcomes measuring systems, call (800) 482-3686.]
You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content