Chapman D B, Torpy J
Heart Institute, Omaha, NE 68134, USA.
Am J Manag Care. 1997 Mar;3(3):431-7.
Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a rapidly growing and expensive cardiovascular disorder. Conventional care for CHF is ineffective and results in a cycle of "crisis management" that includes repeated emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and physician visits. Recently, a number of outpatient coronary care centers that provide consistent, aggressive outpatient therapies and extensive patient education have emerged and are successfully breaking this cycle of dependence on hospital services. One such effort is the Heart Institute's Heart Failure Center, the result of a partnership between a private-practice cardiology group and our tertiary-care medical center. Our program includes not only patient education and outpatient infusions of inotropic agents, but an electronic linkage to the emergency department and home healthcare services. Preliminary data show that 16 months after the program was initiated, hospital admissions decreased by 30%, hospital days by 42% and average length of stay by 17%. An effective outpatient heart failure program can alleviate the economic burden of CHF and improve the quality of patient care.
充血性心力衰竭（CHF）是一种迅速发展且成本高昂的心血管疾病。传统的CHF护理效果不佳，导致了一个“危机管理”循环，包括反复前往急诊科就诊、住院以及看医生。最近，一些提供持续、积极的门诊治疗和广泛患者教育的门诊冠心病护理中心应运而生，并成功打破了这种对医院服务的依赖循环。其中一项举措是心脏研究所的心力衰竭中心，它是一家私人执业心脏病学小组与我们的三级医疗中心合作的成果。我们的项目不仅包括患者教育和门诊使用强心剂输液，还包括与急诊科和家庭医疗服务的电子连接。初步数据显示，该项目启动16个月后，住院人数减少了30%，住院天数减少了42%，平均住院时间减少了17%。一个有效的门诊心力衰竭项目可以减轻CHF的经济负担，并提高患者护理质量。
