title: Containing the Cost of Heart Failure Management: A Focus on Reducing Readmissions.
abstract: Heart failure (HF) consumes a large proportion of the total national health care budget. Incidence and prevalence of HF are increasing and may give rise to an unsustainable increase in health care spending. Hospitalizations account for the vast majority of HF-related expenses, and 20% to 25% of patients discharged with a diagnosis of HF are readmitted within 60 days. Thus, efforts to reduce HF readmissions are a reasonable target for reducing overall expenses. It is to be seen if targeting readmission rates will lead to significant cost savings, and more importantly, to improved patient outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Liberty Cardiovascular Associates, Liberty Hospital, Liberty, MO, USA.
authors.forename: Dwarakraj
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Soundarraj
authors.affiliation: Thoracic and Cardiovascular Institute, Michigan State University, Lansing, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Vini
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: Thoracic and Cardiovascular Institute, Michigan State University, Lansing, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Vaibhav
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Satija
authors.affiliation: Thoracic and Cardiovascular Institute, Michigan State University, Lansing, MI, USA. Electronic address: thakur@msu.edu.
authors.forename: Ranjan K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Thakur
mesh_terms: D003363:Cost Control / Q000191:economics* / Q000379:methods; D017048:Health Care Costs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D010346:Patient Care Management / Q000191:economics* / Q000379:methods; D010359:Patient Readmission / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Cost; Heart failure; Readmissions