# Using Short Stay Units (SSU) Instead of Routine Admission to Improve Patient Centered Health Outcomes for Acute Heart Failure (AHF) Patients.

> **NIH AHRQ R01** · INDIANA UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS · 2020 · $358,501

## Abstract

Title: Using Short Stay Units Instead of Routine Admission to Improve Patient Centered Health Outcomes for
Acute Heart Failure Patients
ABSTRACT
Nearly 85% of acute heart failure (AHF) patients who present to the emergency department (ED) with acute
heart failure (AHF) are hospitalized. Once hospitalized, within 30 days post-discharge, 27% of patients are re-
hospitalized or die. Attempts to improve outcomes with novel therapies have all failed. The evidence for
existing AHF therapies are poor: No currently used AHF treatment is known to improve outcomes. ED
treatment is largely the same today as 40 years ago. Hospitalizing patients who don't need it may contribute to
adverse outcomes. Hospitalization is not benign; patients enter a vulnerable phase post-discharge, at
increased risk for morbidity and mortality. Patients would prefer to be home, not hospitalized. Furthermore,
hospitalization and re-hospitalization for AHF predominantly affects patients of lower socioeconomic status
(SES). Avoiding hospitalization in patients who don't need it may improve outcomes and quality of life, while
reducing costs.
Short stay unit (SSU: less than 24 hours) management of AHF is effective for lower risk patients. However, it's
only been studied in small studies or retrospective analyses. In addition, SSU have been considered `cheating'
for hospitals trying to avoid 30 day readmission penalties, since SSU or observation didn't count as an
admission. However, this quality measure is now changing. A robust clinical effectiveness trial would
demonstrate the effectiveness of this patient-centered strategy.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9930077
- **Project number:** 5R01HS025411-04
- **Recipient organization:** INDIANA UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS
- **Principal Investigator:** Peter S Pang
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** AHRQ
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $358,501
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-08-01 → 2021-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9930077

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9930077, Using Short Stay Units (SSU) Instead of Routine Admission to Improve Patient Centered Health Outcomes for Acute Heart Failure (AHF) Patients. (5R01HS025411-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9930077. Licensed CC0.

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