Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Background. Managed care rewards those individuals and institutions capable of achieving superior patient outcomes while making wise use of limited resources. However, studies of patient outcomes under these circumstances are lacking. We sought to investigate whether decreasing length of stay and limiting resource utilization had a negative effect on objective measurements of patient outcome for patients with congestive heart failure. Methods. Guided by studies of evidence-based medicine, a multidisciplinary team developed and implemented a clinical care multidisciplinary action plan for the inpatient management of congestive heart failure. This provided practitioners with a target length of hospital stay, projections for daily improvements based on intervention, guidelines for diagnostic studies and medical therapy, early identification of patients with special discharge needs, and intensive patient education. Results. Shorter lengths of stay for patients with congestive heart failure were achieved without negatively impacting on mortality or readmission rates. The study found a trend in favor of greater utilization of appropriate medical therapy despite shorter hospitalization. Conclusion. The use of a clinical care map for management of complex medical illnesses can be associated with shorter hospital stay without sacrificing patient outcomes. © 2001 by CHF, Inc.

Original publication

DOI

10.1111/j.1527-5299.2001.990866.x

Type

Journal article

Journal

Congestive Heart Failure

Publication Date

01/01/2001

Volume

7

Pages

37 - 42