Clinical Measures:
Delivering Recommended Care for Patients With Heart Failure
What are we measuring and why?
To measure how consistently we meet the Joint Commission's* standards of care for patients with congestive heart failure (CHF), we track our success in performing each of its recommended practices. These dictate that we:
- Measure how well the heart pumps blood
- Prescribe specific drugs if the heart is not pumping efficiently
- Provide smoking cessation counseling (for smokers) while patients are in the hospital
- Give proper care instructions to patients when they are discharged
How are we doing and how do we compare to best practice?
Each of these measures is important to the health of patients with CHF. Partners HealthCare's annual rates of adherence to these best practices for heart failure patients range from 93% to 100%, which exceeds the Massachusetts State average of 97%.
What are we doing to improve?
Partners HealthCare teams use many tools to help make sure patients get the recommended care. These tools include order sets, educational brochures, and checklists. The Partners HealthCare hospitals are working together to create a Heart Failure Registry. This will be a list that lets us quickly identify CHF patients when they are in or admitted to the hospital. Quick detection of those with CHF will enable staff to deliver the best care as quickly as possible.
* The Joint Commission is the nation’s leading organization dedicated to healthcare quality in hospitals. It has created National Hospital Quality Measures in many areas. These are practices proven to ensure the best possible outcomes for patients.
Charts for Delivering Recommended Care for Patients With Heart Failure
- Current Scores
- Scores Over Time
- Current Scores
- Scores Over Time
Percent of Heart Failure Patients Receiving Recommended Care
Partners HealthCare Data Period: April - June 2011
Partners HealthCare Source: Partners HealthCare High Performance Medicine
Reference Point Source: The Joint Commission State 50th Percentile
Percent of Heart Failure Patients Receiving Recommended Care
Partners HealthCare Source: Partners HealthCare High Performance Medicine
Reference Point Source: The Joint Commission State 50th Percentile
Percent of Heart Failure Patients Receiving Recommended Care
Partners HealthCare Data Period: April - June 2011
Partners HealthCare Source: Partners HealthCare High Performance Medicine
Reference Point Source: The Joint Commission State 50th Percentile
Percent of Heart Failure Patients Receiving Recommended Care
Partners HealthCare Source: Partners HealthCare High Performance Medicine
Reference Point Source: The Joint Commission State 50th Percentile