NP Managed Heart Failure Clinic Model

Nurse Practitioners (NP) are competent to make significant contributions to clinical management of heart failure (HF) patients by providing care that is comprehensive, consistent, coordinated, collaborative, and cost effective. Several research studies have shown that NPs provide cost effective care, reduce mortality and improve quality of life for HF patients. However, there is little or no data on NPs utilization of proposed national guidelines recommended for evaluation and management of HF patients with LVSD. The purpose of the project was to investigate through web based survey NP s current utilization of the proposed ACC/AHA guidelines for diagnosis and management of HF in adults. A total of 58 NPs completed the survey. 39% of the respondents were not familiar with the guidelines and only 61% were familiar with the guidelines. 48% of the respondents report using the HF guidelines most of the time, with only 11% stating they use the guidelines all the time. Interestingly up 67% of NP respondents referred their patients to designated HF clinics. Based on results of the study and literature review, an NP model of a comprehensive outpatient HF Management Clinic was proposed.