Standardising cardiac rehabilitation for better outcomes

Car­diac reha­bil­i­ta­tion is a proven and effec­tive treat­ment and sec­ondary pre­ven­tion that helps patients recov­er after a heart event. It reduces the risk of fur­ther com­pli­ca­tions, low­ers hos­pi­tal read­mis­sions and sup­ports bet­ter long-term health. 

Each year, around 4,500 South Aus­tralians are referred to car­diac reha­bil­i­ta­tion. This presents a clear oppor­tu­ni­ty to improve heart health out­comes for peo­ple recov­er­ing from a heart attack or heart event, and to increase par­tic­i­pa­tion in this high­ly effec­tive intervention. 

The Car­diac Care Statewide Clin­i­cal Net­work (SCN) has released an updat­ed car­diac reha­bil­i­ta­tion mod­el of care for South Aus­tralia, pro­vid­ing a frame­work to sup­port con­sis­tent ser­vice deliv­ery across the state. 

The mod­el builds on the approach suc­cess­ful­ly test­ed in region­al SA through the Coun­try Heart Attack Pre­ven­tion Research Pro­gram and now applies these prin­ci­ples statewide. 

Key fea­tures include:

• A cen­tralised refer­ral system
• Stream­lined data col­lec­tion and monitoring
• Uni­ver­sal access to patient education
• Flex­i­ble deliv­ery options, includ­ing tele­health and hybrid models
• A strong empha­sis on a mul­ti-dis­ci­pli­nary workforce.

Togeth­er, these ele­ments aim to reduce vari­a­tion across ser­vices and increase patient access regard­less of where peo­ple live. 

The Car­diac Care SCN extends its thanks to the many stake­hold­ers who pro­vid­ed valu­able input into the devel­op­ment of the mod­el of care and con­tin­ue to sup­port efforts to improve car­diac care across South Australia. 

To learn more about the car­diac reha­bil­i­ta­tion mod­el of care and heart health, vis­it the Car­diac Care web­page on the SA Health web­site.