Key result
Only ~22% of hospital cardiologists include all key quality indicators in HF referral documents.
Why the study?
This study examined quality indicators for heart failure in patient referral documents.
Cross-Sectional (n=426)
Yes
The quality of patient referral documents for heart failure varies significantly among physicians, highlighting a need for standardization based on identified quality indicators.
Referral documents for heart failure often omit key quality indicators; leaves open whether standardization improves care transitions.
This study examined quality indicators (QIs) for heart failure (HF) in patients' referral documents (PRDs).We conducted a nationwide questionnaire survey to identify information that general practitioners (GPs) would like hospital cardiologists (HCs) to include in PRDs and that HCs actually include in PRDs. The percentage of GPs that desired each item included in PRDs was converted into a deviation score, and items with a deviation score of ≥ 50 were defined as QIs. We rated the quality of PRDs provided by HCs based on QI assessment.We received 281 responses from HCs and 145 responses from GPs. The following were identified as QIs: 1) HF cause; 2) B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) or N-terminal pro-BNP concentration; 3) left ventricular ejection fraction or echocardiography; 4) body weight; 5) education of patients and their families on HF; 6) physical function, and 7) functions of daily living. Based on QI assessment, only 21.7% of HCs included all seven items in their PRDs. HCs specializing in HF and institutions with many full-time HCs were independently associated with including the seven items in PRDs.The quality of PRDs for HF varies among physicians and hospitals, and standardization is needed based on QI assessment.
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Kinugasa et al. (2022) conducted a cross-sectional in Heart Failure (n=426). Quality Indicators (QIs) assessment in Patient Referral Documents (PRDs) was evaluated on Proportion of hospital cardiologists including all seven identified quality indicator items in their patient referral documents. A nationwide survey identified seven quality indicators for heart failure patient referral documents, but found that only 21.7% of hospital cardiologists included all seven items in their documents.
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