AHRQ Review Finds Multicomponent Interventions Effective in Preventing Readmission After Heart Failure

An AHRQ research review found home-visiting programs and multidisciplinary heart failure clinic interventions can reduce hospital readmission and improve survival for patients with heart failure. The research, which also was published online May 27 in Annals of Internal Medicine, found that telephone support interventions do not appear to reduce all-cause readmission, but can improve survival and reduce readmission related to heart failure. Programs focused on telemonitoring or providing education only did not appear to reduce readmission or improve survival. As heart failure is a major clinical and public health problem and a leading cause of hospitalization, future research is needed to determine whether one type of transitional care program is more beneficial than other types of programs, according to the review, “Transitional Care Interventions To Prevent Readmissions for People With Heart Failure.”