03.12.2018

Expanded Care Model Improves Quality of Life for Chronic Heart Failure Patients

A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine examined an expanded care model for chronic heart failure patients that supplemented conventional cardiac therapy with a nurse and a social worker. Researchers studied the Collaborative Care to Alleviate Symptoms and Adjust to Illness intervention, also known as CASA.  Nurses and social workers collaborated with a primary care provider, cardiologist and palliative care physician for 314 patients for a one-year period, with 157 of them enrolled in the CASA program. The CASA model significantly improved depression and fatigue symptoms among patients, but did not significantly change heart failure-specific health status, pain, shortness of breath or number of hospitalizations.

Link to: Becker’s Healthcare article (2/2018) and JAMA Internal Medicine abstract