Telephone Follow up for Heart Failure Patients Discharged to Skilled Nursing Facilities
Reducing hospital readmissions has become a national priority for health care institutions. Telephone follow up, a cost effective intervention, has been used with varying degrees of success in reducing 30 day readmissions for heart failure (HF) patients. However, little is known about interventions directed toward HF patients discharged to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) The purpose of this project was to test the effect of telephone follow up with SNF staff by an advanced practice nurse (APN) on 30 day readmission rates. A one time call to SNF staff was made by the APN to review key components of HF management. Readmission rates for the intervention group (n 24) were compared to the control group (n 21) No significant difference was observed in readmission rates between the two groups. Further research is needed to establish the efficacy of telephone interventions in reducing rehospitalizations of HF patients discharged to SNFs. TELEPHONE FOLLOW UP 3