MultiCare Pulse Heart Institute and DispatchHealth Partnership Produces Unprecedented Success

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Timely Home-Based Treatment Creates Pathway to Reduce the National 25% Average for Hospital Re-Admissions in Chronic Heart Failure Patients Down to Just 6.8%

Spokane, WA & Denver, CO | January 12, 2023, | Known for a solid commitment to advancing heart and vascular medicine in the Pacific Northwest, MultiCare’s Pulse Heart Institute set out to change the narrative for congestive heart failure patients and today announces in partnership with DispatchHealth, they have created a pathway to successfully lower their 30-day hospital readmission rate for chronic heart failure patients, down from the national average of 25% to an unprecedented 6.8%.

Dr. David Bragin-Sanchez, head of the Pulse Heart Institute’s Inland Northwest Heart Failure Center of Excellence, says, “The COVID era has taught us how to adapt to our patient’s needs rapidly and frankly think outside the box. We saw that by individualizing the treatment of our heart failure patients, including using tools like our partners at DispatchHealth, and their wealth of resources, we have created a necessary and beneficial ecosystem.”

In partnership with DispatchHealth, pioneers in home-based, high-acuity healthcare, the Pulse Heart Institute designed a patient-centric pathway for this vulnerable population, and significantly enhanced the quality of life for those served. By taking a focused home-based approach that enabled time-sensitive care to be delivered both quickly and conveniently, readmission rates for a measured sample population dropped by 73%. Patients were rapidly triaged and evaluated by the institute’s expert nurse team, cases discussed with a provider, and then further assessed and treated in their own homes. Dr. David Bragin-Sanchez adds, “These patients who would typically need to go to urgent care or the emergency room are now better served at home, which is much more convenient for them and helps reduce the burden on our already overworked emergency rooms. The partnership has proven to be an invaluable resource in reducing the risk of readmission.”

Heart failure is a significant and growing problem in the United States, impacting the quality of life for millions of adults. Furthermore, congestive heart failure is the most common cause of hospital readmissions among elderly and Medicare patients. DispatchHealth co-founder and CEO Dr. Mark Prather shares, “A solution to address this costly problem would save billions of healthcare dollars and ease the undue strain on hospitals while significantly improving the lives of millions of patients and their families. We founded DispatchHealth on the promise of a healthier healthcare system by moving high acuity care into the home and are proud of the results this partnership has achieved.”

Read the full article below, A Novel Approach to Reduce Congestive Heart Failure 30-Day Readmissions

Visit www.dispatchhealth.com, or www.pulseheartinstiute.org to learn more about either organization.

About Pulse Heart Institute:

Pulse Heart Institute’s mission of “Together, give people their best life” guides us in our quest to establish innovative partnerships in the communities we serve. Pulse Heart Institute is the result of a strategic partnership between the Cardiac Study Center, a cardiology practice serving patients for over 50 years, and MultiCare Health System, an independently governed nonprofit in Washington state. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit subsidiary of MultiCare, the Pulse model has grown to over 1,200 employees and 100 providers managing services in six adult hospitals and over 20 clinic locations in three states.

Offering a comprehensive range of the most advanced cardiac, thoracic and vascular services available with clinics and medical centers throughout our communities, Pulse provides access to some of the most sophisticated facilities and treatments available, from preventive care to emergency treatment for heart attack and ongoing care for heart disease. Connect with us at https://www.pulseheartinstitute.org, 253-572-7320 (Puget Sound region) or 509-755-5500 (Inland Northwest region).

About MultiCare:

MultiCare is a not-for-profit health care organization with more than 20,000 team members, including employees, providers and volunteers. MultiCare has been caring for our community for well over a century, since the founding of Tacoma’s first hospital and today is the largest community-based, locally governed health system in the state of Washington.

MultiCare’s comprehensive system of health includes numerous primary care, urgent care and specialty services — including MultiCare Indigo Urgent Care, Pulse Heart Institute and MultiCare Rockwood Clinic, the largest multispecialty clinic in the Inland Northwest region.

MultiCare’s network of care includes 11 hospitals:

  1. MultiCare Allenmore Hospital, Tacoma
  2. MultiCare Auburn Medical Center, Auburn
  3. MultiCare Capital Medical Center, Olympia
  4. MultiCare Covington Medical Center, Covington
  5. MultiCare Deaconess Hospital, Spokane
  6. MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital, Puyallup
  7. Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital, Tacoma
  8. MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital, Tacoma
  9. MultiCare Valley Hospital, Spokane Valley
  10. Navos Behavioral Health Hospital
  11. Wellfound Behavioral Health Hospital

About DispatchHealth :

Bringing the power of the hospital to the comfort of home™

DispatchHealth provides comprehensive and trusted medical care in the comfort of home to people with serious health concerns—with services that include same-day, urgent medical care; hospital alternative care; and recovery care. Our emergency medicine and hospitalist medicine trained care teams are equipped with all the tools necessary—including imaging and IV infusions—to treat common to complex injuries and illnesses in the home. DispatchHealth is partnered with most major insurance companies and works closely with primary care and specialty care providers, EMS, health systems, senior living facilities, and employers to deliver in-home care that reduces unnecessary emergency room visits, hospital stays and readmissions. Since the company’s inception in 2013, our expert medical teams have treated more than one million people in their homes across more than 30 states in the country—resulting in 58% emergency room avoidance, 8.5% 30-day hospital readmission, 98% patient satisfaction, and nearly $1.5 billion in medical cost savings. For more information, visit DispatchHealth.com.

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