Randomized Trial of a Telephone Intervention in Heart Failure Patients

Background:

In addition to medical treatment for heart failure (HF), a variety of non-pharmacological interventions have been demonstrated to benefit these patients. Some of these include systems for weight monitoring and medication reminders, exercise programs, and individually tailored evaluation and treatment plans with dietitians, social workers, psychologists, and nurse case managers. While many of these approaches have been shown to increase adherence to medication guidelines and result in decreased health care utilization, most rely heavily on a large team of specialized health care providers. It remains unknown whether or not an intervention with a lower intensity of specialized care using sophisticated automated computer tracking and Interactive Voice Response (IVR) techniques can impact the care of HF patients.

Objectives:

The primary hypothesis of this study is that Heart Failure Telephone Intervention (HearT-I) will decrease hospitalizations and clinic visits in the veteran population with heart failure.

Methods: