Telehealth Management in HF Disparity Patients

In the US, racial and ethnic disparities persist, even when income, health insurance and care access are addressed. For example, there is a greater prevalence of chronic heart failure (CHF), higher rates of hospital use and higher death rates in blacks as compared to whites. This is due to many factors including: reduced healthcare access, higher prevalence of hypertension,coronary artery disease, systolic dysfunction, myocardial infarction and obesity. Given the magnitude of this chronic health issue, the growth of the elderly population, and increases in ethnic diversity, providers need to develop new ways of caring for those with chronic conditions living in health disparity communities. The investigators propose to implement a randomized study with health disparity community-dwelling patients. A bilingual clinician will follow patients for 3 months after hospitalization for CHF to test this approach for the proposed health disparity population. The investigators will obtain patient/caregiver input at multiple points during the research to make necessary adjustments to the intervention to ensure that disparity patients accept/use the system, and are satisfied. To ensure that proposed outcomes have relevance for patients, a Community Advisory Board (CAB) of stakeholders will advise the study team throughout the study process. The investigators believe that studying patient use of TSM over a 3 month period will: 1) identify cost-effective care approaches for patients living with chronic disease; 2) involve the patient in identifying and testing approaches that work for them; 3) enhance provider-patient communication; 4) teach the patient how to self-monitor and explore his/her role in self-care; 5) improve patient education about treatment options and 6) explore how "usable" the patients feel the program is. If our goals are achieved, these strategies will result in patient-led improvements in health, satisfaction and quality of life. Knowledge gained will further understanding of the use of telehealth programs as effective self-management tools.