Next Article in Journal
Prospective Evaluation of Pulmonary Function Decline in Resected NSCLC Patients Receiving Adjuvant Pembrolizumab: A Single-Arm Observational Study
Previous Article in Journal
Biopsy Confirmed Pulmonary Sarcoidosis in Thunder Bay District, Representative of Northwestern Ontario
 
 
Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
Journals
Proceedings
Volume 143
Issue 1
10.3390/proceedings2026143004
proceedings-logo
Submit to this Journal
► Article Menu

Article Menu

share Share announcement Help format_quote Cite question_answer Discuss in SciProfiles
first_page
settings
Order Article Reprints
Font Type:
Arial Georgia Verdana
Font Size:
Aa Aa Aa
Line Spacing:
Column Width:
Background:
Abstract

The State of Hospital Re-Admissions in Patients with Heart Failure After Implementation of Heart Failure Clinic at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre †

by
Niousha Djahanpour
1,‡,
Bushra A. Malik
1,‡,
Tirtha Bhattarai
1,
Azadeh Mofid
1,2 and
Vahid Akbari
1,3,*
1
Internal Medicine Program, Northern Ontario School of Medicine University, Thunder Bay, ON P7B 5E1, Canada
2
Division of Internal Medicine, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Center, Thunder Bay, ON P7B 6V4, Canada
3
Division of Cardiology, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Center, Thunder Bay, ON P7B 6V4, Canada
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
Presented at the Internal Medicine Scientific Meeting of Northern Constellations 2026, 30 April–2 May 2026, Toronto, ON, Canada.
‡
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Proceedings 2026, 143(1), 4; https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2026143004
Published: 28 May 2026
Versions Notes

Background: Heart failure (HF) is one of the leading causes of hospitalization and readmission in Canada despite therapeutic advancement, particularly during the post-discharge period [1]. Multidisciplinary outpatient HF clinics may help bridge this gap in reducing readmissions and improving outcomes; however, regional and rural studies are limited.
This study evaluated 30- and 90-day readmission rates following HF hospitalization at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) and assessed whether implementation of an outpatient HF clinic reduced readmissions. Secondary objectives included examining outcomes among medically complex patients admitted to the Medical Clinical Teaching Unit (MCTU).
Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed on patients hospitalized with true HF between 1 August 2022 and 31 July 2024. Patients were divided into pre- and post-HF clinic groups based on index admission date. Readmissions occurring between 1 January and 31 December 2023 were analyzed. Additional outcomes included emergency department (ED) visits and one-year mortality.
Results: Preliminary analysis demonstrated an overall 30-day readmission rate of 15% and a 90-day readmission rate of 24%. ED visits within one year were similar between cohorts (47.1% post-clinic vs. 48.9% pre-clinic; p = 0.71). Among MCTU patients, 4.5% experienced 30-day readmission. Referral to the HF clinic remained low (approximately 3.5%).
Conclusions: Early findings suggest a lower 30-day readmission rate (15%) compared to the national average (20–25%) [1], and a lower 90-day readmission rate (24%) compared to Ontario rates (30%) [2], which may reflect the impact of close follow-up post discharge. However, the low volume of HF clinic referrals may have limited the ability to demonstrate a measurable impact. These results highlight the importance for clearer referral pathways during hospitalization to Medical Units (hospital service and MCTU) and timely referral on discharge to the HF clinic for optimization.
Further research is needed to examine the impact of early interventions, including follow up within a defined timeline.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, V.A. and A.M.; methodology, V.A. and A.M.; formal analysis, N.D.; data curation, N.D. and B.A.M.; writing—original draft preparation, N.D. and B.A.M.; writing—review and editing, N.D., T.B. and B.A.M.; supervision, V.A. and A.M.; project administration, V.A. and A.M.; funding acquisition, V.A. and A.M. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research received academic research support from the Northern Ontario Academic Medicine Association (NOAMA) grant. Conference presentation support for Northern Constellations was provided by Northern Ontario School of Medicine University and Northern Ontario Academic Medicine Association. No additional external funding was received.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Ethics review and approval were waived for this study as it was conducted as a quality improvement initiative evaluating hospital readmission outcomes following implementation of a clinical service at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. The study involved retrospective chart review of existing clinical data with no direct patient contact and no impact on patient care.

Informed Consent Statement

Patient consent was waived due to retrospective chart review methodology.

Data Availability Statement

Data are not publicly available due to institutional privacy restrictions.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge Rabail Siddiqui; Amanda Bakke, for chart review and data collection; Sacha Dubois; and Mansoureh (Suri) Ebrahimi, for assistance with the Northern Constellations Internal Medicine Conference. The authors thank all contributors for their support of the quality improvement project.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

  1. Poon, S.; Leis, B.; Lambert, L.; MacFarlane, K.; Anderson, K.; Blais, C.; Demers, C.; Ezekowitz, J.A.; Hawkins, N.M.; Lee, D.S.; et al. The State of Heart Failure Care in Canada: Minimal Improvement in Readmissions Over Time Despite an Increased Number of Evidence-Based Therapies. CJC Open 2022, 4, 667–675. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] [PubMed Central]
  2. Saxena, F.E.; Bierman, A.S.; Glazier, R.H.; Wang, X.; Guan, J.; Lee, D.S.; Stukel, T.A. Association of early physician follow-up with readmission among patients hospitalized for acute myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. JAMA Netw. Open 2022, 5, e2222056. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Disclaimer/Publisher’s Note: The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Djahanpour, N.; Malik, B.A.; Bhattarai, T.; Mofid, A.; Akbari, V. The State of Hospital Re-Admissions in Patients with Heart Failure After Implementation of Heart Failure Clinic at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. Proceedings 2026, 143, 4. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2026143004

AMA Style

Djahanpour N, Malik BA, Bhattarai T, Mofid A, Akbari V. The State of Hospital Re-Admissions in Patients with Heart Failure After Implementation of Heart Failure Clinic at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. Proceedings. 2026; 143(1):4. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2026143004

Chicago/Turabian Style

Djahanpour, Niousha, Bushra A. Malik, Tirtha Bhattarai, Azadeh Mofid, and Vahid Akbari. 2026. "The State of Hospital Re-Admissions in Patients with Heart Failure After Implementation of Heart Failure Clinic at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre" Proceedings 143, no. 1: 4. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2026143004

APA Style

Djahanpour, N., Malik, B. A., Bhattarai, T., Mofid, A., & Akbari, V. (2026). The State of Hospital Re-Admissions in Patients with Heart Failure After Implementation of Heart Failure Clinic at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre. Proceedings, 143(1), 4. https://doi.org/10.3390/proceedings2026143004

Article Metrics

Back to TopTop