The American College of Cardiology/
American Heart Association
(ACC/AHA) Clinical Performance
Measures for Adults With Chronic
Heart Failure9 include the following
inpatient performance measures
for patients with heart failure: discharge
instructions, evaluation of
left ventricular systolic function,
angiotensin-converting enzyme
inhibitor or angiotensin-receptor
blocker for left ventricular systolic
dysfunction, adult smoking cessation
advice/counseling, and anticoagulant
at discharge for patients with
atrial fibrillation. The guidelines
recommend that the clinical care
team collect data and review compliance
with these measures on a
routine basis, look for changes, and
adjust practice patterns as necessary
to improve performance. The
performance measure of discharge
instructions and its components are
shown in Figure 1.