Improving Referral and Participation in Cardiac Rehabilitation for Veterans A Study of the Veterans Cardiac Rehabilitation Referral Program at Three VA Medical Centers

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are evaluating the Veterans Cardiac Rehabilitation Referral Program VCR2P to improve cardiac rehabilitation participation among Veterans. This study involves 816 Veterans across three VA medical centers in Nashville, Dallas, and Gainesville. It uses a before-and-after design comparing referral rates six months before and six months after implementing the program. The trial aims to increase the proportion of eligible Veterans who receive referrals and who attend rehabilitation sessions, while also exploring factors that affect the programs success. The VCR2P intervention includes a clinical decision support tool that identifies hospitalized Veterans with cardiac rehabilitation-eligible conditions and prompts physicians to refer them. It also provides educational materials to Veterans about the benefits of cardiac rehabilitation and assigns a referral coordinator to oversee the referral process. This single-arm, pre-post trial will assess the effectiveness and implementation of the program within routine care across the three VA centers. Participants hospitalized with conditions such as acute myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass grafting, or systolic heart failure will be involved. Researchers will measure cardiac rehabilitation referrals from hospital admission up to 30 days after discharge and track rehabilitation initiation within six months post-discharge. Focus groups with clinicians and Veterans will identify barriers and facilitators to participation, aiding future program expansion. The study runs from early 2026 through late 2029, with ongoing monitoring of referral and participation rates.

Improving Veteran Referral to Cardiac Rehabilitation