The Effect of Nurse Navigation Program on 30 Day Heart Failure Readmissions

Background In May 2016, Baylor Scott and White The Heart Hospital Plano (BSWTHHP), Texas hired a Nurse Navigator to reduce 30 day Heart Failure (HF) readmissions. The Nurse Navigation Program (NNP) consisted of a combination of interactions with a nurse navigator, enrollment in remote Telemonitoring service, and HF education from the multidisciplinary team. We sought to evaluate the impact of this program on 30 day HF readmissions. Methods We performed a retrospective chart review for consecutive patients who admitted to BSWTHHP for HF from July 4, 2014 - June 30, 2018. We created a flag for hospital discharges occurring on or after October 1, 2016 to separate the data into a pre- and post-program timeframe. We assessed the relation between the intervention and 30 day readmissions via Chi-Square test and performed multivariable logistic regression to assess the relation while adjusting for other patient characteristics. Results There were 1248 records meeting criteria for analysis, 560 (44.9%) of which occurred during the intervention time period. There were no statistically significant differences in patient characteristics across study time periods, but the 30 day readmission rate was significantly lower for those who were hospitalized during the intervention period (3% vs 11%, p Conclusions In this single center experience, we found that implementing a specialized HF discharge program was associated with a significant reduction in 30 day readmissions. Larger, randomized trials may be warranted to further examine efficacy.