Mobile Integrated Health in Heart Failure

High 30-day readmission rates among heart failure (HF) patients (25% nationally) inflict substantial burden on both health systems and patients. The majority of hospital readmissions occur in the first seven days following a hospitalization for HF and are driven by lack of improvement in persistent symptoms. While early, proactive follow-up after hospital discharge can improve health outcomes and patient-reported quality of life, barriers within health systems (lack of appointment availability, transportation, limited ability to deliver medical therapies in the home) have hampered efforts to provide comprehensive follow-up. Evidence suggests that Mobile Integrated Health (MIH), involving community paramedicine coupled with telemedicine, may be an effective intervention to reduce readmissions. The long-term goal of this research is to provide rigorous evidence of MIH with a diverse, representative sample. In this pragmatic randomized clinical trial, the investigators will compare MIH to a Transitions of Care Coordinator (TOCC) intervention. Specifically, the investigators aim to compare the effectiveness of MIH versus TOCC on healthcare utilization (aim 1), patient-reported outcomes (PROs; aim 2), and healthcare quality (aim 3). The investigators will also evaluate the factors that support the adoption, implementation, and maintenance from the perspective of multiple key stakeholders (aim 4). Participants in this RCT will be randomized 1:1 to either MIH (intervention) or TOCC (comparator). All participants will be enrolled and randomized during a hospitalization for HF. Participants in MIH will receive a follow-up phone call and access to community paramedics who provide a comprehensive assessment in the home, and specific medical therapies while consulting with an emergency room physician in real-time via telemedicine. Participants in TOCC will receive a follow-up phone call within 48-72 hours of discharge and connection to appropriate services (social work, care coordination, home care) as needed. Participants in both groups will complete PROs using a rigorously developed, visually enhanced mobile PRO reporting system. The study population will include patients at NewYork-Presbyterian (NYP) and Mount Sinai health systems, which are part of the New York City-based INSIGHT PCORI-funded clinical research network. The targeted sample size across the two sites is 2,100 patients (1,050 per arm). This record is for the parent PCORI-funded trial evaluating MIH among HF patients. There is a separate sub-study being conducted locally at NYP which is described in another record.