Improving cardiac rehabilitation attendance and completion through quality improvement activities and a motivational program.

Purpose: Recent studies have demonstrated that patients who attend more cardiac rehabilitation (CR) sessions have lower subsequent mortality rates than those who attend fewer sessions.

Methods: We analyzed the impact of several phased-in policy and process changes implemented to increase patient participation in CR. In March 2010, our CR program changed from a policy of individualizing the recommended number of CR sessions per patient to a policy that recommended all 36 CR sessions. In October 2010, we introduced a 7-minute video describing the benefits of CR. In August 2011, we introduced a motivational program that rewarded patients after every sixth CR session. The number of CR sessions attended was determined through review of billing records. Enrollment and completion were defined as attending ≥1 session and ≥30 sessions, respectively.

Results: We identified 1103 patients sequentially enrolled in CR between May 2009 and January 2012. Overall, the median number of sessions per patient improved from 12 to 20 (P < .001). Completion rate improved from 14% to 39% (P < .001). The motivational program increased attendance by a median of 3 sessions per patient (P = .04), but this effect was limited to local CR participants. Financial analysis suggested that for every $100 spent on motivational rewards, patients attended an additional 6.6 (95% CI, -1 to 14) sessions of CR.

Conclusions: Quality improvement activities significantly increased CR participation. Wide implementation of such programs may favorably impact patient participation in CR and potentially decrease the rate of subsequent cardiac events.