Impact of an Interdisciplinary Team on Patients Seen at a Heart Failure Clinic

Background: Heart failure is a complex clinical syndrome that requires the involvement of interdisciplinary teams to address patient needs and optimize therapy. Interdisciplinary teams, including physicians, advanced practice practitioners, and pharmacists, play a crucial role in implementing guideline-directed medical therapy and addressing barriers to self-care that ultimately improve patients’ overall survival. This study assessed the impact of an interdisciplinary team on patients’ heart failure outcomes compared to patients solely managed by clinical cardiologists. Methods: This was a single-center retrospective chart review study of Baptist Health patients seen at the heart failure clinic. The study compared patients seen by an interdisciplinary team to patients evaluated by a clinical cardiologist alone. The timeframe of the records analyzed was from June 1, 2022, to June 1, 2023. The primary outcomes were compliance with guideline-directed medical therapy and 30-day readmission rates. The secondary outcome included improvement in pro-BNP levels. Results: Twenty-five patients were included per group. Interdisciplinary team interventions led to 60% of heart failure clinic patients being placed on appropriate guideline-directed medical therapy. In comparison, only 20% were placed on appropriate therapy when solely seen by their cardiologist (p = .009). Significant improvements in pro-BNP were identified between groups (44% vs 20%, p = .03). There was no statistically significant difference in 30-day readmission rates between both groups (28% vs 36%, p = .76). Discussion: Implementation of an interdisciplinary team demonstrated improvements in guideline-directed medication therapy and pro-BNP levels.