Heart failure care up, regardless of hospital teaching status

(HealthDay)—Adherence to performance measures is similar at teaching hospitals (TH) and nonteaching hospitals (NTH), according to a study published online Oct. 25 in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

Dhavalkumar B. Patel, M.D., M.P.H., from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, and colleagues analyzed data from Get With the Guidelines—Heart Failure (GWTG-HF) to compare the rates and trends of guideline-recommended care at TH and NTH for patients with heart failure. They compared baseline patient characteristics, performance measures, and in-hospital outcomes for 197,187 heart failure patients admitted to TH and 106,924 patients admitted to NTH between 2005 and 2014.

The researchers found that TH patients were younger and more likely to be black and uninsured. Both groups of hospitals had similar defect-free care (100 percent compliance with performance measures: adjusted odds ratio, 0.99; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.73 to 1.34). Individual performance measures, including discharge instruction, documentation of ejection fraction, use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin receptor antagonists, use of β-blocker, and smoking cessation counseling, were also similar between the groups. There was improvement in adherence to performance measures over time during the study period, with no difference at TH and NTH (interaction P value 0.07).

"Data from the GWTG-HF program suggest that there was improving and comparable adherence with heart failure performance measures and use of guideline-recommended therapies irrespective of hospital teaching status," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.