Nursing and Health Vol. 1(3), pp. 47 - 51
DOI: 10.13189/nh.2013.010301
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Advanced Practice Nurse-managed Heart Failure Clinic Benefits Patient’s Quality of Life and Limits Readmissions

Christina Hanson, MSN, ACNS-BC¹, Kara Aalfs, MSN, ACNS-BC², Donna J. Plonczynski, PhD, APRN, FNP-BC^3,*
1 Clinical Nurse Specialist Heart Failure Recovery Center, Advocate Sherman Hospital Elgin, 60124 Illinois, United States
² Manager of Out-Patient Cardiovascular Services, Advocate Sherman Hospital Elgin, 60124 Illinois, United States
³ Northern Illinois University DeKalb, Illinois, United States

ABSTRACT

Background: Heart failure (HF) is the primary cause of hospitalizations and readmissions to a hospital within 30 days of initial discharge. In 2010 HF cost an estimated $39.2 billion in health care services, lost productivity and medications. Optimizing outpatient care is vital to effectively manage this patient population. Objective: The purpose of this paper is to describe and evaluate the effectiveness of an optimized outpatient HF clinic. Patient outcomes from a Midwestern community hospital were based on quality of life (QOL) and readmission rates. Methods: A retrospective chart audit was conducted on a random sample of patients enrolled in the Heart Failure Recovery Center (HFRC). The QOL outcomes were measured using the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure® Questionnaire. Results: Enrolled patients demonstrated improvement in their QOL in the emotional, physical, and overall scores across the first 6 months of care. In addition, there were significantly fewer 30-day all-cause readmissions when compared to non-Clinic patients. Conclusion: Utilization of an APN-managed multidisciplinary HF clinic improved patient’s QOL and contributed to one hospital’s decreased all-cause readmission rates for the HF population.

KEYWORDS
Heart Failure, Advanced Practice Nurse, Readmissions, Quality of Life

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Christina Hanson, MSN, ACNS-BC , Kara Aalfs, MSN, ACNS-BC , Donna J. Plonczynski, PhD, APRN, FNP-BC , "Advanced Practice Nurse-managed Heart Failure Clinic Benefits Patient’s Quality of Life and Limits Readmissions," Nursing and Health, Vol. 1, No. 3, pp. 47 - 51, 2013. DOI: 10.13189/nh.2013.010301.

(b). APA Format:
Christina Hanson, MSN, ACNS-BC , Kara Aalfs, MSN, ACNS-BC , Donna J. Plonczynski, PhD, APRN, FNP-BC (2013). Advanced Practice Nurse-managed Heart Failure Clinic Benefits Patient’s Quality of Life and Limits Readmissions. Nursing and Health, 1(3), 47 - 51. DOI: 10.13189/nh.2013.010301.