AF Centers of Excellence Playbook

Atrial Fibrillation Center of Excellence: An Operational Playbook

AF Clinic/Center of Excellence: Authored by Elliott Antman, MD, the Atrial Fibrillation Center of Excellence: An Operational Playbook, offers a comprehensive and practical guide to help healthcare professionals implement AF CoEs at their institutions. The Playbook includes step-by-step guidance for everything from defining an AF CoE’s scope and structure to adopting the latest treatment protocols and patient care . . .

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Health Facts for You: Patient Information Sheets

Education – Patient/Caregiver: The “Health Facts for You: patient information sheets cover the following topics:

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Allied Professionals Champion AF Centers of Excellence

AF Clinic/Center of Excellence: Establishing an Atrial Fibrillation Center of Excellence (AF CoE) is an ambitious and positive move towards enhancing patient outcomes and elevating the standard of care for those with AF.
  
Elliott M. Antman, MD, and Andrea R. Lewin, PharmD, RPh, CACP, from Brigham & Women’s Hospital, recently sat down with Julie B. Shea, MS, MSN, FHRS, CCDS, to discuss the significant impact of an AF CoE’s multidisciplinary approach on patient care.

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Utility and limitations of long-term monitoring of atrial fibrillation using an implantable loop recorder

Journal Articles: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia diagnosed and treated in the world. The treatment of patients’ symptoms as well as the prevention of stroke and heart failure is dependent on accurate detection and characterization of AF. A variety of electrocardiographic (ECG) monitoring techniques are being used for these purposes. However, these intermittent ECG monitoring techniques have been shown to underdiagnose AF events while having limited ability to characterize AF burden and density. Continuous long-term implantable loop recorder (ILR)–based ECG monitoring has been designed to overcome these limitations. This technology is being increasingly used to diagnose episodes of AF in high-risk patients and to improve characterization of AF episodes in patients with known AF. This review aims to review the potential clinical utility of ILR-based ECG monitoring while highlighting some inherent limitations of the current technology. An understanding of these limitations is important when considering the use of ILR-based ECG monitoring and clinical decision making based on the information being stored within these devices.

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AFib Toolkit: Left Atrial Appendage Closure

Education – Patient/Caregiver: Two-page patient education resources about LAAC. Includes information about the procedure, risk factors, and post-procedure instructions.

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AFib Patient Education Toolkit: Blood Clot Prevention, Rate Control, Rhythm Control

Education – Patient/Caregiver: Extensive collection of patient education sheets for 17 different medications used for anticoagulation, rate control, and rhythm control. Each sheet includes how to take the medication, potential interactions, side effects, and warnings.

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AFib Toolkit: What is Atrial Fibrillation

Education – Patient/Caregiver: Two-page patient education resource explaining AFib, its causes, management and treatment. Includes a description of medications, procedures, and implantable devices, as well ask suggested lifestyle changes.

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ED AF <48h Protocol

Order Sets: ED AF <48h Protocol

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EP News – QI and Outcomes – OCT 2021 AF CoE Success (Deering)

Journal Articles: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is increasing in age-adjusted incidence and global prevalence, and it is associated with a number of adverse clinical and fiscal outcomes (Chugh et al, Circulation 2014;129:837, PMID 24345399). While treatment advances have improved clinical outcomes, existing AF care delivery processes typically are fragmented and disconnected. This lack of coordination frequently limits the achievement of high-quality, guideline-directed clinical outcomes (Deshmukh et al, Circulation 2013;128:2104, PMID 24061087).

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