Measure description
Percentage of patients 18 years of age and older with heart failure who completed initial and follow-up patient-reported functional status assessments
Rationale
Patients living with heart failure often have poor functional status and health-related quality of life, which declines as the disease progresses (Allen et al., 2012). In addition, their care is often complicated by multiple comorbidities. To assist in managing these complex patients, the American College of Cardiology Foundation and American Heart Association recommend collecting initial and repeat assessments of a patient's function and ability to complete desired activities of daily living (Hunt et al., 2009). The American Heart Association has also released scientific statements emphasizing the collection of patient-reported health status (for example, functional limitations, symptom burden, quality of life) from heart failure patients as an important means of establishing a dynamic conversation between patient and provider regarding care goals and the patient's priorities (Allen et al., 2012; Rumsfeld et al., 2013).
Clinical Recommendation Statements
American College of Cardiology Foundation and American Heart Association (2013): While this guideline does not explicitly recommend the use of patient-reported functional status or quality of life assessments (such as the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire or Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire), it does “refer to meaningful survival a state in which HRQOL [health-related quality of life] is satisfactory to the patient.” The guideline also includes quality of life assessments in its description of a detailed plan of care for patients with chronic heart failure.