Development of a Home Health-Based Palliative Care Program for Patients With Heart Failure

Heart failure is a significant burden to the healthcare system. Approximately 5.7 million adults in the United States were diagnosed with heart failure between 2009 and 2012 (Mozaffarian et al., 2016). The American Heart Association projects that direct costs for heart failure may be as high as $77.7 billion by 2030 (Heidenreich et al., 2011). Technological and pharmaceutical advancements have delayed the progression of the disease; however, it is predicted that close to half of individuals with heart failure will die within 5 years of the initial diagnosis (Braun et al., 2016 ; McIlvennan & Allen, 2016). Current research suggests that the utilization of palliative care and an interdisciplinary team approach to the care of patients with heart failure improves the quality of life and decreases utilization of healthcare resources at the end of life (Evangelista et al., 2014a). This performance improvement project examined the knowledge of a home healthcare interdisciplinary team's knowledge about palliative care in patients with heart failure, the 30-day readmission rate for patients enrolled in a home-based palliative care program, and documentation of advanced directives in a home healthcare organization.