Some acute heart failure patients can be safely and successfully treated at home, according to a research letter published Nov. 16 in JACC: Heart Failure.
The letter provides analysis of the Cleveland Clinic Hospital Care at Home program at Weston-based Cleveland Clinic Florida between April 2023 and August 2024, according to a Dec. 26 news release from Cleveland Clinic.
Here are six takeaways from the letter:
- Cleveland Clinic Florida's hospital-at-home program has treated more than 2,800 patients, for conditions including heart failure, pneumonia and kidney infections, since 2023.
- Eligible patients admitted to the program receive Bluetooth-enabled equipment to use at home. The equipment transmits data to a clinically integrated virtual command center at a Cleveland Clinic hospital and is overseen by a team of physicians, advanced practice providers and nurses.
- Cleveland Clinic researchers compared data from 194 heart failure patients enrolled in the at-home program to data from 201 heart failure patients who received care at a hospital.
- Of the 215 patients who were offered enrollment in the at-home program, 90.2% (194) agreed to enroll, which researchers said speaks to patient acceptance of at-home care.
- Compared to patients treated at a hospital, 84% of at-home patients completed treatment without needing to be transferred to a facility for imaging, testing or care escalation, the analysis found. At-home patients also had a slightly lower readmission rate (12.4% vs 16.9%), though researchers said this was not statistically significant.
- Both groups had similar 30-day mortality rates, increases in GDMT scores and net changes in mean diastolic blood pressure, mean systolic blood pressure and heart rates between admission and discharge, the release said.
Read the full research letter here.