Key result
Clinician education increases heart failure iron deficiency screening by ~18 percentage points.
Why the study?
Iron deficiency is common in heart failure patients and associated with worse outcomes, yet screening rates remain low despite guideline recommendations.
Does a clinician educational intervention improve iron deficiency screening in ambulatory veterans with heart failure and LVEF <50%?
Does a clinician educational intervention improve iron deficiency screening in ambulatory veterans with heart failure and LVEF <50%?
Absolute Event Rate: 68.3% vs 50%
A clinician educational intervention improved iron deficiency screening rates in heart failure patients, though standardized workflows are needed to further improve treatment referrals.
Educational intervention was associated with higher ID screening in HF; hypothesis-generating and requires randomized confirmation before practice change.
BACKGROUND: Iron deficiency (ID) is common among patients with heart failure. It is associated with reduced functional capacity, recurrent hospitalization, and worse outcomes. Despite guideline recommendations, ID screening remains low in clinical practice. PROJECT RATIONALE: The aim was to improve adherence to guideline-recommended ID screening among ambulatory veterans with heart failure and left ventricular ejection fraction <50% through a clinician educational intervention. PROJECT SUMMARY: We conducted a single-center quality improvement initiative in a Veterans Affairs ambulatory cardiology clinic. Screening increased from 50.0% before the intervention to 68.3% afterward. Referral for intravenous iron therapy among eligible patients remained low but increased from 0% to 16.7%. Clinician education improved ID screening but had limited impact on treatment, highlighting the need for additional implementation strategies at the systems level. TAKE-HOME MESSAGES: ID screening represents an important opportunity to improve heart failure care. Educational interventions may increase screening, but standardized workflows may be needed to achieve meaningful improvements.
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Ponn et al. (2026) studied Heart failure with left ventricular ejection fraction <50%. Clinician educational intervention vs. Pre-intervention usual care was evaluated on Iron deficiency screening. A clinician educational intervention increased iron deficiency screening among ambulatory veterans with heart failure from 50.0% to 68.3%.
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