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Improving Veteran Access To Heart Failure Specialty Care: A Change Model Project, Mark Bird Whelchel

Dissertations

Background: Many Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facilities have cardiac services, but not all VHA centers offer heart failure care. Viable alternative models exist to traditional outpatient treatment by physicians, such as Tele-medicine consultations, the use of nurse practitioner run clinics, and the use of models such as Specialty Care Access Network-Extension for Community (SCAN-ECHO) and site specific contracted physician services models. These have the potential to improve Veteran access to care. Objective: The purpose of this change project was to conduct a needs assessment survey, in joint effort with the Hershey Medical Center Heart and Vascular Institute, to identify barriers …