Consultation with cardiologists for persons with new-onset chronic heart failure: a population-based study.

Background: It is recommended that persons recently diagnosed with heart failure consult with a specialist in heart failure.

Objectives: To determine whether patients who were diagnosed with new-onset chronic heart failure (CHF) by a noncardiologist consulted with a cardiologist, and identify the factors associated with delayed consultation.

Methods: Physician reimbursement administrative data were obtained for all adults with suspected new-onset CHF in the year 2000 in Quebec, defined operationally as a physician visit for CHF (based on the International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision diagnostic codes), with no previous physician visit code for CHF in the preceding three years.