Enrollment of Veterans Into a Heart Failure Home Telehealth Program
Home Health Care Management & Practice
Published online on December 10, 2015
Abstract
Heart failure (HF) affects 5.7 million Americans and is the most common reason for 30-day readmissions. While evidence supports incorporating home telehealth (HT) programs within health care organizations to support HF patient care, it is essential to carefully map HT into existing care pathways to promote successful outcomes. The purpose of this evidence-based project was to increase enrollment in an existing Veteran’s Administration HT HF program through a strategically designed HT program plan. The outcomes included a 300% enrollment and no project participant readmissions during the 9-month project. Given the competency development in strategic and program planning, advanced practice registered nurses are ideally suited to provide the leadership in designing, implementing, and evaluating HT programs.