For patients visiting the emergency department for heart failure, receiving follow-up care within a week is accompanied by reduced mortality risk, as study in the Canadian Medical Association Journal highlights.
Using Canadian healthcare data, researchers studied 35,000 adults discharged from emergency departments with heart failure.
All-cause mortality at 1 year was lower among those who received early follow-up care (22% for follow-up within 7 days, 24% for care at 8–30 days, 29% for no care in 30 days). Follow-up care within 7 days of discharge from the emergency department was associated with lower rates of long-term mortality, as well as subsequent hospital admissions, and a trend to lower short-term mortality rates. Timely access to longitudinal care for patients with heart failure who are discharged from the emergency setting should be prioritized.
The authors write: “We argue that scheduled follow-up appointments for patients with heart failure in the emergency department should be prioritized Providing such an appointment before the patient leaves the emergency department is one of the most efficient ways to ensure timely follow-up.”
Read full article here.
Source: NEJM Journal Watch & CMAJ
