Any difficulties or delays in diagnosing heart failure as distinct from other forms of dyspnea are costly. But so is echocardiography, and invariably, it is not always available to patients as and when required. So how can PCTs ensure that they’re spending their resources on assessing heart failure patients most effectively? And how can they maintain a level of care that lets patients know they’re being well looked after?

Small kit, big advantages

Portable technology facilitates at-home testing for most patients – so hospital appointments are freed up for other patients, and costly emergency admissions are dramatically reduced. Even the cost of care is more easily accountable.

Axis-Shield UK’s diagnostic devices (including the Abbott i-STAT) help nurses identify brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) hormone in the blood. No hospitalisation. No expensive echocardiography. Abbott i-STAT produces results in minutes that are so finely tuned that nurses can vary patients’ medication to exact specifications. 

Linking improved care and improved efficiency savings

Providing this level of sophisticated testing in the patient’s own home is a first. The savings to the PCT in terms of reduced hospital appointments alone is considerable. Add to that the savings accruing from so many perfectly managed patients whose finely tailored treatments can negate severe fluctuations and hospitalisation for complications.

Reducing unnecessary hospitalisation and improving patient care is the best way to proactively manage cardiovascular health in your PCT.

Reading the signs

Managing patients is complicated, not least because heart failure can result from so many separate or linked causes. It isn’t just about monitoring the health of the heart itself – but assessing the condition of the circulation, lungs, neuroendocrine system and other organs.

One of Axis-Shield UK’s partners has developed a range of portable tests that assist PCTs in managing heart failure patients and helping them reduce admissions across their Trust. One of the major weapons in the fight against emergency admission is the Abbott i-STAT. The handheld analyser gives absolutely accurate, immediately accessible lab-equivalent test results across a range of parameters, including brain natriuretic peptide (BNP). 

For PCTs and nurses – the ability to obtain this kind of information at clinics or even at patients’ homes simplifies the testing procedure and enhances the service delivery. There is no shortfall in the quality or range of testing available – indeed, the Abbott i-STAT produces results across a wide range of specified parameters within minutes.

To download our factsheet about heart failure, please click here.

Welcome to our new Heart Failure blog.  We’ll start posting news and articles of interest in the next few days and look forward to reading your comments.

If you want to start a discussion, all you have to do is to email us here in the editorial office and suggest a topic, or even write an opinion piece yourself, which we’ll be glad to publish (and get a discussion going around).