The handbook of multidisciplinary and integrated heart failure care is a landmark report from the HFPN, published in September 2018.
The handbook was produced to help patient advocates and healthcare professionals communicate a shared, compelling and evidence-based case for change in heart failure (HF) policy; to win the support of key decision-makers to challenge the status quo; and to encourage and facilitate more consistent implementation of best practice.
The needs of people with heart failure (HF) are not static, so there is no single optimal care journey. There are three very typical phases of HF: diagnosis; care and follow-up; and living with heart failure. Depending on progression of the syndrome, people with HF may have episodes that require return to acute care or enhanced medical supervision.
The handbook makes the case for best-practice multidisciplinary and integrated care throughout the care journey for the person with HF. It identifies key components of quality in HF care and the barriers to implementing best-practice care across Europe. The handbook is based around five ‘pressure points’ along the care journey:
Each pressure point is summarised in the handbook and also has a dedicated short report giving an overview of the issue, best practice, and case studies and reproducible tools.
Download the handbook
The handbook was produced in English and later translated into French and Spanish. The full-length versions of the five pressure points are available in English only. The HFPN has also produced a fold-out summary leaflet in English, French, Italian, Polish and Spanish.
In the handbook, the HFPN calls on governments across Europe to:
The call to action also requires governments to demonstrate measurable improvement for the following minim standards and core indicators of quality for all people with HF:
Click the map to sort the case studies by country or view all below
The handbook of multidisciplinary and integrated heart failure care made possible with financial support from Novartis Pharma. Additional support for the handbook launch in September 2018 was provided by Bayer AG.
As with all materials produced by HFPN, the handbook’s content is not biased to any specific treatment or therapy, and is endorsed and owned by the Network’s members, who have full editorial control. All members provide their time for free.