1. Effect of Rapid Clinic Follow-Up After Hospital Discharge on 30- Day Heart Failure Readmission Lee Arcement, MD, MPH Dragana Lovre, MD

2. Summary To assess the effect of a seven-site system-wide LSU HCSD quality improvement project (QIP) To reduce 30-day Heart Failure (HF) readmissions by increasing % of discharged HF patients having post-discharge follow-up outpatient clinic visits to within two weeks of hospital discharge. Informatics and analytical support required for the HF disease management program's HF readmission reduction QIP Hypothesis: timely clinic follow-up after a HF- related inpatient discharge may reduce risk of short-term readmission.

6. Aims/Methods/Timeline 1: Background Analyses 2: Analysis of Factors Related to Readmission 3: Conduct interim reporting over the course of the QIP. 4: Final Analysis of QIP

7. Appropriate Lipid Therapy for Heart Failure Patients Lee Arcement, MD, MPH Phillip Paine, MD

8. Summary To assess the impact of a seven-site system- wide quality improvement project (QIP) To improve appropriate lipid (statin) therapy for eligible patients in the LSU HCSD heart failure (HF) patient population. Informatics and analytical support required for the HF program's lipid control QIP. The QIP project will be directed to improving adherence to the current national guidelines for lipid control in heart failure patients.

9. Four Possible Problems Some HF patients may not be on statin therapy even though they are eligible for statin therapy and have non-optimal lipid control. Some HF patients on statin therapy still have non- optimal lipid control, due to either inappropriate choice of statin or suboptimal dosing or other clinical factors. Some HF patients on or off statin therapy may be poor candidates for statin therapy due to contraindications or intolerances. Some HF patients on statin therapy may not have an indication for statin therapy

14. Aims/Methods/Timeline Aim 1: Background Analysis Aim 2: Analysis of factors related to lipid control. Aim 3: Analytical support for identifying methods for categorizing HF patients with regard for eligibility for statin therapy. Aim 4: Conduct interim reporting over course of the QIP project. Aim 5: Conduct final analysis on the effect of the QIP on lipid control levels within the HF patient population.