• Yevgeniy Khariton, Adrian F Hernandez, Gregg C Fonarow, Puza P Sharma, Carol I Duffy, Laine Thomas, Xiaojuan Mi, Nancy M Albert, Javed Butler, Kevin McCague, Michael E Nassif, Fredonia B Williams, Adam DeVore, J Herbert Patterson, and John A Spertus.
• Department of Cardiology, Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute, University of Missouri-Kansas City (Y.K., J.A.S.). Department of Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC (A.F.H., A.D.). Department of Cardiology, Duke Clinical Research Institute, Durham, NC (A.F.H., L.T., X.M., A.D.). Department of Cardiovascular Medicine Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA (G.C.F.). Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, East Hanover, NJ (P.P.S., C.I.D., K.M.). Department of Cardiology Cleveland Clinic, OH (N.M.A.). Stony Brook University, NY (J.B.). Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO (M.E.N.). Mended Hearts, Huntsville, AL (F.B.W.). Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (J.H.P.). kharitony@umkc.edu.
• Circ Cardiovasc Qual. 2018 Apr 1; 11 (4): e004668.

BackgroundAlthough a key treatment goal for patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction is to optimize their health status (their symptoms, function, and quality of life), the variability across outpatient practices in achieving this goal is unknown.Methods And ResultsIn the CHAMP-HF (Change the Management of Patients With Heart Failure) registry, associations between baseline practice characteristics and Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ) Overall Summary (OS) and Symptom Frequency (SF) scores were assessed in 3494 patients across 140 US practices using hierarchical regression after accounting for 23 patient and 11 treatment characteristics. We then calculated an adjusted median odds ratio to quantify the average difference in likelihood that a patient would have excellent (KCCQ-OS, ≥75) health status or minimal (monthly or fewer) symptoms (KCCQ-SF, ≥75) when treated at one practice versus another, at random. The mean (±SD) KCCQ-OS and KCCQ-SF were 64.2±24 and 68.9±25.6, with 40% (n=1380) and 50% (n=1760) having KCCQ scores ≥75, respectively. The adjusted median odds ratio across practices, for KCCQ-OS ≥75, was 1.70 (95% confidence interval, 1.54-1.99; P<0.001) indicating a median 70% higher odds of a patient having good-to-excellent health status when treated at one random practice versus another. In regard to KCCQ-SF, the adjusted median odds ratio for KCCQ-SF ≥75 was 1.54 (95% confidence interval, 1.41-1.76; P=0.001).ConclusionsIn a large, contemporary registry of outpatients with chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, we observed significant practice-level variability in patients' health status. Quantifying patients' health status as a measure of quality should be explored as a foundation for improving care.Clinical Trial RegistrationURL: https://www.centerwatch.com. Unique identifier: TX144901.© 2018 American Heart Association, Inc.

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