New Heart Failure Patient Education Video Series
Aimed at Improving Patient Outcomes, Targeting
Dietary Changes and Proper Medicine Adherence
to Drive Change

Coincides with treatment advances, as well as escalating diagnoses, hospital readmissions
& patient costs

(Hunt Valley, MD) June 2011 -- Milner-Fenwick, a multi-media publisher that specializes in video- and web-based products for the healthcare community, has launched a five-part series on heart failure designed to give patients the information – and inspiration – they need to better manage their care.

"This new series is critical," says Dr. Jonathan Safren, a cardiologist who practices at MidAtlantic Cardiovascular Associates and serves as director of the Heart Failure Center at Baltimore's St. Agnes Hospital. "Heart failure patients often don't know what to do – they're confused and overwhelmed - and we're seeing not only more and more hospital admissions, but readmissions."

Safren, the medical expert for the Milner-Fenwick series, says patient education is critical to patient success as is prompt physician follow up. While up to one third to one half of all critical heart failure patients die within a year if not taking prescribed corrective action, fatality rate drops to single digits for patients who quickly embrace recommended changes.

"The number 1 and 2 reasons for hospital readmissions are dietary and medication-related," notes JoAnne Nabozny, Milner-Fenwick's product development manager, who describes the new heart failure video series as hopeful and reassuring. "It's not an anatomy lesson but rather it's about patients who have successfully taken control of their heart failure and can provide encouragement and real-life lessons learned by others."

Heart failure is a growing problem nationwide, costing an estimated $34-39 billion annually. And the costs are expected to increase. According to the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology:

• Heart failure affects nearly 6 million in the U.S., with more than 1 million hospitalizations annually, 300,000 deaths and a growing number of re-admissions.
• As more and more patients are diagnosed with heart failure, one in five hospitalized patients are soon re-admitted with complications, a clear indicator of the long-term difficulties that patients have understanding and managing the disease.
• Cardiovascular disease retains its ranking as both the #1 cause of death in the United States and the leading chronic disease.

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission estimates the government spends $12 billion a year on "potentially preventable" readmissions for Medicare patients.

Safren says setbacks for heart failure patients usually are swift. "The question becomes, 'Why are they leaving hospitals and then doing U-turns four days later?' These videos really get at the heart of that – how these patients get into treatment in the first place, what the medications do and how you can keep from coming back." Noting the emerging Medicare rules for re-admissions, the series will help hospitals improve outcomes and avoid penalties.

Engaging patients in their care and helping them understand their conditions and their treatment has been linked to higher patient success rates as well as a reduction in healthcare expenses. A Sentara Virginia Beach Hospital case study in 2009 linked patient dissatisfaction and setbacks with an inability to understand instructions, being overwhelmed with information, and/or being unable to remember. After initiating an in-hospital education program, the hospital saw heart failure readmission rates drop 74 percent, as well as shorter hospital stays and increased patient satisfaction.

The Milner-Fenwick videos – prompted by changes in clinical care, prescription drugs and therapeutic options - include the newest treatment and lifestyle recommendations as supported by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology.

In the videos, physicians share the facts and patients share stories of their success.

The Milner-Fenwick series stresses new recommendations that include limiting sodium to 1,500 mg a day (five times less than the current national average), monitoring weight and giving up smoking as well as specific instructions related to prescribed medication options, diet and exercise regimes, and ways to better manage emotions. Special versions for home viewing and web use will be released in late summer.

Nancy Mannion, RN and team leader of preventative cardiology at St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore says the videos will be incorporated into patient education initiatives there.

"The term "heart failure" is scary to patients," says Mannion. "So many are unknowledgeable about their condition or dazed by what they've been through. The discharge video is important," she adds, "because so many patients leave with no sense of what to do. By learning who to call and when to call, they can take care of problems right away. And, being able to see someone else who has gone through what they are going through will be very beneficial to them. A patient in one of the films said it best. Heart failure is a disease. You do need to make changes. But with those changes, it is something you CAN live with."

The new Milner-Fenwick heart failure video series includes:
HA-96 "What is Heart Failure?"
HA-98 "Heart Failure: Managing Day to Day"
HA-99 "Heart Failure: Nutrition and Exercise"
HA-100 "Heart Failure: Medications"
HA-101 "Heart Failure: Leaving the Hospital"

About Milner-Fenwick:
Milner-Fenwick has been producing patient education videos for more than 30 years; their productions feature real-life patients, easy-to-understand graphics and animation. The firm has earned a reputation for excellent quality and service within the medical community and honored with numerous awards from the National Health Information Awards and the International Health and Medical Media Festival.

Milner-Fenwick's mission is to inform and guide patients toward better health through multi-media education. The Milner-Fenwick library contains more than 600 health video programs—from fifteen-minute programs designed for in-office viewing to multi-hour DVDs for patient home reference – that are used extensively in hospitals, physicians' offices, corporate wellness departments, health insurance and disease management companies and public health agencies. Milner-Fenwick videos are not advertiser supported, which ensures unbiased content and products.