Most older adults who are hospitalised for a heart attack don’t attend even one cardiac rehab session – this according to a recent study published in JAMA Internal Medicine, which found fewer than a quarter attended at least one session, and only 5 per cent completed 36 sessions.
As a provider of software solutions for exercise referral, including Phase 4 cardiac rehab, I read these statistics with interest, because two of our customer sites – in Redbridge and Southwark – show a take-up of 70.5 per cent and 63 per cent respectively. Ninety-six people completed the Redbridge programme and 357 at Southwark.
It begs the question: how do other programmes enroll, monitor and correspond with their patients?
Many of the trusts and local authorities we assist work in conjunction with other lifestyle services funded by Public Health to offer a broader provision, including cardiac rehab. The Public Health team prescribes the data required, and there’s a long list; patients often feel they have to provide a lot of personal information. However, it’s vital they understand that this is essential to evaluating the full impact of the programme, as well as for securing future funding.
The data must also be made available to fitness instructors, so they can highlight improvements with these patients, empowering them and improving retention.
Regular patient contact is crucial, but following a heart attack there’s often a proliferation of appointments – it can be hard for patients to know who’s contacting them. Exercise referral software systems allow GPs to give patients a receipt clearly showing which services will be in touch, and their contact details. Furthermore, the cardiac rehab team can see appointments with other services, so there’s a complete view of patient care.