UM File # 5068

Background
Heart failure is a serious problem that affects 2% of adults and 10% of seniors over the age of 65 in developed countries. Approximately half a million people are newly diagnosed with heart failure in the United States every year. In order to reduce the demand on hospital admissions due to heart failure, there is an increasing need to promptly identify patients at risk for hospitalization and treat these patients before their conditions worsen to the point that a hospital stay is required. Community pharmacies provide a great resource to manage patients quickly and efficiently in their localities, but have not, thus far, been involved in a management program to treat heart failure.

Technology Description
Researchers at the University of Michigan have developed a disease management tool to allow pharmacists to effectively and efficiently identify HF patients at risk for developing worsening heart failure leading to hospitalization. In addition, the tool provides a guideline for when and how to intervene in the care of the patient - in consultation with the patient's physician. This community pharmacy-based interventional program is easy and quick to implement for both parties. Such a program would provide preventative care, potentially reduce chances of hospitalization, potentially reduce health care costs associated with the disease, and provide learning opportunities for pharmacy students. Previous studies evaluating heart failure outpatients in a clinical study observed that 90% of patients hospitalized for worsening conditions had prior symptoms of dyspnea and 78% had edema, both of which are easily identifiable by a pharmacist and treatable in the outpatient setting when an appropriate clinical tool is utilized. Our clinical tool can be implemented in all pharmacy settings and allows evaluation and intervention for those patients transitioning from a chronic stable heart failure condition to an acute decompensated heart failure condition with minimal time investments.

Applications
• Educational tool for pharmacists-in-training
• New clinical tool for heart failure disease management in the community pharmacy setting

Advantages
• Can be easily and quickly implemented in all community pharmacies
• Reduces health care costs for heart failure
• Allows early identification of heart failure decompensation

File Number: 5068