Preface; Contents; Contributors; Part I: Administrative and Regulatory Issues; 1: Society of€Cardiovascular Patient Care Heart Failure Accreditation; Introduction; Heart Failure Accreditation; The Process; Essential Components; Governance; Community; Prehospital; Early Stabilization; Acute Care; Transitions; Clinical Quality; Summary; References; 2: The Economics and€Reimbursement of€Congestive Heart Failure; Introduction; Burden of€Disease; Hospital Care; The Observation Unit and€Heart Failure; Disease Management in€Heart Failure; Clinical Outcomes.

Coordinated Systems of€Care Process; Outcomes: Quality in€Action; Survival; Resource Utilization; Patient-Centered; Toward Quality Improvement; Clinical Practice Guidelines; Performance Measures; Accreditation; References; 5: Interaction of€Performance Measurements, Staffing, and€Facility Requirements for€the€Heart Failure Observation Unit; Performance Measurements; Staffing; Facility Requirements; References; Part II: Pathophysiology and Demographics; 6: Heart Failure: Epidemiology and€Demographics; Health care Burden; Hospitalization/Ambulatory Care; Mortality; Diagnosis.

Cost-Effectiveness of€the€OU Observation Services Reimbursement; Consolidated vs. Virtual Design; Emerging Trends; Y-Model; References; 3: Regulatory Requirements in€Acute Heart Failure; Coverage Determination Regulations in€Acute Heart Failure; Observation Unit Regulations in€Acute Heart Failure; Quality Regulations in€Acute Heart Failure Linked to€Medicare Payment; References; 4: Quality and€Operational Metrics in€Heart Failure; Quality and€Its Measurement; Structure and€Process: The€Language of€Operational Metrics; Structure; Disease Management Programs.

Emergency Medical Services Scope of€Practice The Emergency Medical Services Challenge; Prehospital Management of€Acute Pulmonary Edema; Reduction of€Left Ventricular Preload; Nitrates; Morphine; Furosemide; Combined Drug Therapies with€Nitroglycerin, Furosemide, and€Morphine; Reduction of€Left Ventricular Afterload; Nitrates at Higher Doses; Ventilatory Support; Noninvasive Positive Pressure Ventilation; Nonacute Prehospital Management of€Heart Failure; References; 9: Dyspnea Assessment and€Airway Management in€Acute Heart Failure Patients; Assessment of€Dyspnea.

Risk FactorsReferences; 7: Pathophysiology of€Acute Decompensated Heart Failure; Introduction; Hemodynamic Dysfunction; Pathophysiology of€Neurohormonal Compensatory Mechanisms; Clinical Presentation; Precipitating Factors and€Clinical Outcome; Therapeutic Implications of€Excessive Neurohormonal Activation; Summary; References; Part III: Emergency Medical Services and Emergency Department Assessment and Treatment of Acute Heart Failure; 8: The Out-of-Hospital Management of€Acute Heart Failure; Introduction; Pathogenesis of€Acute Heart Failure; Field Assessment; Electrocardiogram.

This valuable guide to formulating care plans for acute heart failure patients in short-stay or observation units is now in a revised second edition. It sets out the medical needs, administrative processes and regulatory issues attendant on this patient group.