LV Function Assessment

The Reading Hospital percentages displayed in this graph reflect discharges during second quarter 2011. State and national rates from the US Department of Health & Human Services are for discharges between October 2009 and September 2010.

Why is this important?

The proper treatment for heart failure depends on what area of your heart is affected. An important test is to check how your heart is pumping, called “the left ventricular function assessment.” It can tell your healthcare provider whether the left side of your heart is pumping properly. Other ways to check on how your heart is pumping include:

• your medical history and a physical examination
• listening to your heart sounds
• other tests as ordered by a physician (like an EKG (electrocardiogram), chest x-ray, blood work, and an echocardiogram)

Our approach to improving performance:

All of our nursing staff recently attended Heart's Alive, a one-day course which outlined the Heart Failure Program at The Reading Hospital. We have also established a dedicated Heart Failure Unit on N2 South.

We participate in Get With the Guidelines, a premier hospital-based quality improvement program for the American Heart Association to increase staff awareness and education. We are now utilizing Clinical Documentation Specialists to increase physician awareness of appropriate/timely documentation of LV function, and have updated the forms used by doctors and nurses to include this important information.