Hospital-Physician Integration and Cardiac Rehabilitation Following Major Cardiovascular Events

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2830818 According to an AHRQ-funded study in JAMA Network Open, patients who receive care from physicians who are employed by hospitals (hospital-integrated physicians) after a cardiac event are 11 percent more likely to participate in cardiac rehabilitation than those who see an independent physician. Researchers reviewed the Medicare Part A and B claims of 28,596 patients hospitalized for a cardiac event that made them eligible for cardiac rehabilitation between 2016 and 2019. They found that 9,037 patients—31.6 percent overall—received care from a hospital-integrated physician. Of these patients, 33 percent received cardiac rehabilitation, a medically supervised program for improving heart health. Additionally, cardiac rehabilitation was associated with a 14 percent decrease in the odds of future cardiovascular-related hospitalizations.