Management of heart failure before, during and after an out-of-hours primary care contact

Older people with heart failure (HF) are at high risk of hospital admission. Research has mainly focused on care provided during or after hospitalization, yet few studies have investigated the period prior to admission. Such pre-hospital HF care is often delivered at out-of-hours primary care services (OHS-PC) as worsening of HF occurs relatively often during evenings, nights or weekends, as symptoms are provoked by a supine position, salt intake and alcohol consumption.

Aim and approach

The goal of this research is to get insight into:

• Type of received care, including conversations on advanced care planning to patients with HF in the period surrounding an OHS-PC contact.
• Factors associated with a second OHS-PC contact or even hospital admission in the 90 days after the OHS-PC contact.

This will be investigated through digital medical records to see what happens in the 30 days before, and 90 days after an OHS-PC contact. With this knowledge, we aim to deliver building blocks that can improve care and quality of life for older patients with HF.