Quality Indicators in Patient Referral Documents for Heart Failure in Japan.

This study examined quality indicators (QIs) for heart failure (HF) in patients' referral documents (PRDs).We conducted a nationwide questionnaire survey to identify information that general practitioners (GPs) would like hospital cardiologists (HCs) to include in PRDs and that HCs actually include in PRDs. The percentage of GPs that desired each item included in PRDs was converted into a deviation score, and items with a deviation score of ≥ 50 were defined as QIs.

Differences in Priorities for Heart Failure Management Between Cardiologists and General Practitioners in Japan.

Background: The purpose of this study was to clarify the current status and issues of community collaboration in heart failure (HF) using a nationwide questionnaire survey.

Methods and results: We conducted a survey among hospital cardiologists and general practitioners (GPs) using a web-based questionnaire developed with the Delphi method, to assess the quality of community collaboration in HF. We received responses from 46 of the 47 prefectures in Japan, including from 281 hospital cardiologists and 145 GPs.