An outpatient practice performance program was shown to significantly improve delivery of guideline-recommended care for heart failure patients. The IMPROVE HF study found underuse of heart failure guidelines in many cardiology practices. The practice improvement program measured adherence to quality measures and provided feedback to help increase adherence. Participating practices saw improvements in delivery of heart failure therapies like ACE inhibitors, beta-blockers, and aldosterone antagonists.

1. Practice performance improvement program
enhances guideline-recommended care for
heart failure patients in the outpatient setting
2
• IMPROVE HF Study results showed underutilization of guideline-
recommended treatments in many outpatient cardiology practices
• Measure and Improve: Make sure that your patients are receiving
all eligible care measures by leveraging an existing practice
improvement program
References
1. Fonarow GC, Albert NM, Curtis AB, Stough WG, Gheorghiade M, Heywood JT, McBride ML, Inge PJ, Mehra MR, O’Connor CM, Reynolds D,
Walsh MN, Yancy CW. Improving evidence-based care for heart failure in outpatient cardiology practices: Primary results of the Registry to
Improve the Use of Evidence-Based Heart Failure Therapies in the Outpatient Setting (IMPROVE HF). Circulation. 2010;122:585-596.
2. Fonarow GC, Yancy CW, Albert NM, Curtis AB, Stough WG, Gheorghiade M, Heywood JT, McBride ML, Mehra MR, O’Connor CM, Reynolds
D, Walsh MN. Heart failure care in the outpatient cardiology practice setting: findings from IMPROVE HF. Circ Heart Fail. 2008;1:98-106.
The IMPROVE HF study was sponsored by Medtronic, Inc., Minneapolis, MN
© 2010 Medtronic, Inc., All rights reserved.
— Learn about the
American Heart Association’s
Get With The Guidelines®
–
Outpatient Program
Visit http://outpatient.heart.org
SCAPathways and Tools
Prevention
FACT: Guideline-recommended, evidence-based
treatments for heart failure are underutilized in
many outpatient cardiology practices2
Are your patients receiving ALL the care they need?
Significant increase in proportion of patients who
receive ALL eligible care measures1
Start your own practice improvement initiative
by leveraging existing programs
Learn about the American Heart Association Get With the
Guidelines® Outpatient program
Learn about the Medtronic practice improvement program
for your cardiology practice
Medtronic Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention Pathways and Tools
• For practices with paper- or electronic-based medical records
• Designed to optimize patient quality of care and enhance physician and practice efficiencies
ce performance
rove the quality of care
ure1
coagulants
for AF
CRT ICD HF Education
0.673 P < 0.001
P < 0.001
P < 0.001
37%
50%
60%
68% 66%
78%
72%
Baseline 24 Months
cantly increased at
mended heart failure care measures
Register for Get With The Guidelines® – Outpatient – and learn more at
www.outpatient.heart.org.
Contact your Medtronic representative to find out how to get started
or visit www.MedtronicConnect.com
• Existing electronic health records are utilized, and relevant patient data are extracted without disturbing
clinical workflow
• Participating practices receive quarterly feedback reports that record guideline adherence, provide national/
regional benchmarking information, and offer clinical resources for continuing quality improvement
• Formal recognition of participants’performance achievements will be provided
Baseline
12 Months
24 Months
23.5%
55.3%
68.7%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
+345.5%
Adopt Guidelines. Advance Care.
SCAPathways and Tools
Prevention
FACT: Guideline-recommended, evidence-based
treatments for heart failure are underutilized in
many outpatient cardiology practices2
Are your patients receiving ALL the care they need?
Significant increase in proportion of patients who
receive ALL eligible care measures1
Start your own practice improvement initiative
by leveraging existing programs
Learn about the American Heart Association Get With the
Guidelines® Outpatient program
Learn about the Medtronic practice improvement program
for your cardiology practice
Medtronic Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention Pathways and Tools
• For practices with paper- or electronic-based medical records
• Designed to optimize patient quality of care and enhance physician and practice efficiencies
ce performance
rove the quality of care
ure1
coagulants
for AF
CRT ICD HF Education
0.673 P < 0.001
P < 0.001
P < 0.001
37%
50%
60%
68% 66%
78%
72%
Baseline 24 Months
cantly increased at
mended heart failure care measures
Register for Get With The Guidelines® – Outpatient – and learn more at
www.outpatient.heart.org.
Contact your Medtronic representative to find out how to get started
or visit www.MedtronicConnect.com
• Existing electronic health records are utilized, and relevant patient data are extracted without disturbing
clinical workflow
• Participating practices receive quarterly feedback reports that record guideline adherence, provide national/
regional benchmarking information, and offer clinical resources for continuing quality improvement
• Formal recognition of participants’performance achievements will be provided
Baseline
12 Months
24 Months
23.5%
55.3%
68.7%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
+345.5%
Adopt Guidelines. Advance Care.
Start your own practice improvement initiative
Help to conduct a chart review and create a baseline profile to
determine how outpatient heart failure care delivery at your practice
compares to evidence-based guidelines.
Adopt Guidelines. Advance Care.
— Learn about Medtronic’s
Practice Improvement
Program for Your
Cardiology Practice
Contact your Medtronic representative
or visit www.MedtronicConnection.com.
SCAPathways and Tools
Prevention
FACT: Guideline-recommended, evidence-based
treatments for heart failure are underutilized in
many outpatient cardiology practices2
Are your patients receiving ALL the care they need?
Significant increase in proportion of patients who
receive ALL eligible care measures1
Start your own practice improvement initiative
by leveraging existing programs
Learn about the American Heart Association Get With the
Guidelines® Outpatient program
Learn about the Medtronic practice improvement program
for your cardiology practice
Medtronic Sudden Cardiac Arrest Prevention Pathways and Tools
• For practices with paper- or electronic-based medical records
• Designed to optimize patient quality of care and enhance physician and practice efficiencies
PROOF: Outpatient practice performance
programs significantly improve the quality of care
for patients with heart failure1
ACEI/ARB Beta-Blocker Aldosterone
Antagonist
Anticoagulants
for AF
CRT ICD HF Education
P = 0.063
P < 0.001
P < 0.001
P = 0.673 P < 0.001
P < 0.001
P < 0.001
Percentofeligiblepatientsreceivingtreatment
78%
86%
35%
68%
37%
50%
60%
85%
92%
60%
68% 66%
78%
72%
Baseline 24 Months
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
5 of 7 quality measures significantly increased at
24 months versus baseline
Evidence-based, guideline-recommended heart failure care measures
Register for Get With The Guidelines® – Outpatient – and learn more at
www.outpatient.heart.org.
Contact your Medtronic representative to find out how to get started
or visit www.MedtronicConnect.com
• Existing electronic health records are utilized, and relevant patient data are extracted without disturbing
clinical workflow
• Participating practices receive quarterly feedback reports that record guideline adherence, provide national/
regional benchmarking information, and offer clinical resources for continuing quality improvement
• Formal recognition of participants’performance achievements will be provided
Baseline
12 Months
24 Months
23.5%
55.3%
68.7%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
+345.5%
Adopt Guidelines. Advance Care.
Complimentary Heart
Failure Study Results To
Help You Learn More.
You Play
A Vital Role
in Heart Failure
Patient Care
1
A campaign that started with a trade ad that enticed doctors, nurses and recipients to visit a landing page offering vital information about Medtronic and its work with the American
Heart Association. This was all part of an email campaign that was deemed a success. The response and open rates turned out to be much higher than industry averages.