Patient-centered Care Transitions in Heart Failure: A Pragmatic Cluster Randomized Trial

Heart failure (HF) is the most common cause of hospitalization in older adults. The month after hospital discharge represents a vulnerable period, when patients are at increased risk of death and readmission to hospital. Research has shown that certain discharge-planning services can reduce death and readmissions, but these have not been widely implemented. In this study, we will group evidence-informed discharge-planning services into 'Patient-centered Care Transitions in HF' (PACT-HF), a model of care that will prepare patients for their transition from hospital to home. Through PACT-HF, patients will benefit from a comprehensive assessment of their health care needs, learn to recognize and manage symptoms of HF, and receive the information and follow-up care needed to optimize their health. We will introduce PACT-HF to 10 Ontario hospitals over a number of time periods using a stepped wedge cluster trial design. We will compare the outcomes (hierarchically ordered) of patients in hospitals with PACT-HF to those in hospitals without PACT-HF. We anticipate that patients hospitalized at the sites with PACT-HF will have fewer readmissions, emergency visits, and deaths after discharge; report a better quality of life; and feel more prepared for discharge. We also anticipate that overall, PACT-HF will reduce health system costs.