Virginia Mason Medical Center uses $25,000 grant to support 'Heart to Heart' program

Virginia Mason Medical Center is using a $25,000 grant from the Cardinal Health Foundation to support a pilot program designed to reduce hospital readmissions among patients diagnosed with heart failure.

For the "Heart to Heart" program, Virginia Mason has partnered with Kelley-Ross, a leading independent pharmacy in Seattle. Kelley-Ross pharmacists call and visit the homes of patients with moderate to severe heart failure once a month for three months after they are discharged from the hospital. The pharmacists explain medications and ensure individuals follow their medication schedules. Kelley-Ross pharmacists also make notes of these conversations and home visits in the Virginia Mason electronic medical record, which is viewed by the patients' cardiologists and other care team members.

Home visits by Kelley-Ross pharmacists are in addition to the patients' follow-up calls from, and office visits with, providers at the Virginia Mason Heart Failure Clinic.

"This project draws on best practices in medication management and helps support our patients during the critical transition phase from the hospital to their home," said Anne Casey, director, Virginia Mason Heart Institute.

During its pilot year the program will support 50 heart failure patients taking five or more chronic-condition medications and will strive to reduce hospital readmissions among these patients by half. The current readmission rate for heart failure patients is 22 percent at Virginia Mason, compared to the national average of about 24 percent. If successful, the goal is to integrate the Heart to Heart program into the medical center's standard post-discharge care for heart failure patients.

Heart failure, which cannot be cured but can be managed with proper medications and medical supervision, is a leading cause of hospitalization in the U.S. among individuals age 65 and older.

Source: Virginia Mason Medical Center