The effect of a nurse-managed CHF clinic on patient readmission and length of stay.
Hospital readmission for exacerbation of symptoms of Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) is a major home healthcare problem and expense. To address this problem and curb the increasing expense and patient lifestyle disruption, a group of staff nurses at the Medical University of South Carolina Medical Center developed a nurse-managed clinic to follow all patients with CHF after discharge. Within 6 months of the clinic's operation, readmissions of these patients decreased by 4%, and the length of stay decreased by 1.6 days.
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D000359:Aftercare / Q000458:organization & administration*; D019091:Critical Pathways; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000451:nursing*; D018575:Home Care Services, Hospital-Based / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D010359:Patient Readmission; D015397:Program Evaluation