Heart Failure Association of the European Society of Cardiology Quality of Care Centres Programme: design and accreditation document

Abstract

Heart failure (HF) is the major contributor to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Given its rising prevalence, the costs of HF care can be expected to increase. Multidisciplinary management of HF can improve quality of care and survival. However, specialized HF programmes are not widely available in most European countries. These circumstances underlie the suggestion of the Heart Failure Association (HFA)

Heart Failure Association, Heart Failure Society of America, and Japanese Heart Failure Society Position Statement on Endomyocardial Biopsy

“…Presently, there is an unmet need to develop a network of regional and national centres with a standardized expertise in EMB practice. This issue can be addressed though the implementation of Heart Failure Quality of Care Centres, providing multidisciplinary care of HF patients, including the availability of EMB in tertiary level centres (117)…”

Transforming heart failure and cardio‐oncology care during COVID‐19

“…While standard imaging modalities (e.g. standard echocardiography) significantly improved (75% in 2020 compared to 60% in 2018), only 34% of the clinics use advanced echocardiography techniques recommended by the (European) HFA and (Greek) HHFA 2,3 . This can be another direct consequence of the previously mentioned expertise gap that this network faces.…”

“…High hospitalization rates and low quality of life result in extreme healthcare burden 1 . Recently, the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) published recommendations for developing HF quality centres to improve patient outcomes, while at the same time containing exploding healthcare costs 2 . Following their example, the Hellenic Heart Failure Association (HHFA) developed a strategy to organize a nationwide HF clinics network 3 .…”

Heart failure guidelines implementation: Lifting barriers with registries and networks

“…Adherence to guidelines and implementation of evidence-based treatment is difficult, and there is no consensus on the optimal implementation strategy ( 2 ). There is wide regional variation and space for improvement ( 3 , 4 ), with the first and most important step in this process being the organization of a national HF clinics network, initiation of national registries, and quality improvement programs ( 5 , 6 ).…”