Heart failure disease management: a team approach

Patients with heart failure do better if they are treated in a formal heart failure disease-management program than if they receive standard care: their hospitalization rates and costs of treatment are lower, and their functional status is higher. The programs feature close coordination between primary care givers, subspecialty consultants, and nurses with specialty training in the nuances of heart failure management. Aggressive medical therapy must be coupled with patient education and rapid response to early identified problems. This article reviews the principles of heart failure disease-management programs and cites evidence that they are beneficial.