Abstract Context Despite national requirements mandating collaboration between palliative care specialists and mechanical circulatory support (MCS) teams at institutions that place destination ...therapy ventricular assist devices, little is known about the nature of those collaborations or outcomes for patients and families. Objectives To assess how Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' regulations have changed collaboration between palliative care and MCS teams and how this collaboration is perceived by MCS team members. Methods After obtaining verbal consent, members of MCS teams were interviewed using semistructured telephone interviews. Interviews were transcribed, and content was coded and analyzed using qualitative methods. Results Models for collaboration varied widely between institutions. Several expected themes emerged from interviews: 1) improvements over time in the relationship between palliative care specialists and MCS teams, 2) palliative care specialists as facilitators of advance care planning, and 3) referral to hospice and ventricular assist device deactivation as specific areas for collaboration. Several unexpected themes also emerged: 4) the emergence of dedicated heart failure palliative care teams, 5) palliative care specialists as impartial voices in decision making, 6) palliative care specialists as extra support for MCS team members, and 7) the perception of improved patient and family experiences with palliative care team exposure. Conclusion Although the structure of collaboration varies between institutions, collaboration between MCS teams and palliative care specialists is increasing and often preceded the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services requirement. Overall impressions of palliative care specialists are highly positive, with perceptions of improved patient and family experience and decreased burden on MCS team members.
Abstract Objective Management of depression, if it is independently associated with repeated hospitalizations for heart failure (HF), offers promise as a viable and cost-effective strategy to improve ...health outcomes and reduce health care costs for HF. The objective of this study was to assess the association between depression and the number of HF-related hospitalizations in patients with low-to-moderate systolic or diastolic dysfunction, after controlling for illness severity, socioeconomic factors, physician adherence to evidence-based medications, patient adherence to HF drug therapy, and patient adherence to salt restrictions. Methods and Results The Heart Failure Adherence and Retention Trial (HART) was a randomized behavioral trial to evaluate whether patient self-management skills coupled with HF education improved patient outcomes. Depression was measured at baseline with the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). The number of hospitalizations was analyzed with a negative binomial regression model that included an offset term to account for the differential duration of follow-up for individual subjects. The average unadjusted number of hospitalizations per year was 0.40 in the depressed group (GDS ≥10) and 0.33 in the nondepressed group (GDS <10). Depression was a strong predictor (incident rate ratio 1.45; P = .006) after adjusting for physician adherence to evidence-based medication use, patient adherence to HF drug therapy, patient adherence to salt restriction, illness severity, HF severity (6-minute walk <620 feet), and socioeconomic factors. Conclusions Depression is a strong psychosocial predictor of repeated hospitalizations for HF. Compared with nondepressed individuals, those with depression were hospitalized for HF 1.45 times more often, even after controlling for physician adherence to evidence-based medications and patient adherence to HF drug therapy and salt restrictions. This finding suggests that clinicians should screen for depression early in the course of HF management.
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