Skip to main content
2024 Canadian Cardiovascular Congress Main banner
Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.
Presentation Icons
Handout
Handout
Networking
Networking
On-Demand
On-Demand
Early Career Involvement
Early Career Involvement
Back
Session Evaluation

HEART FAILURE

NURSING

EARLY CAREER INVOLVEMENT

260 - DEMYSTIFYING THE ROLE OF COMMUNITY PARAMEDICS IN AMBULATORY HEART FAILURE MANAGEMENT

Friday, October 25, 2024
4:30 PM – 5:30 PM PT
Room: 111-112
Early Career Involvement
Workshop Description: Heart failure poses a significant burden on patients and the healthcare system, highlighting the necessity for a holistic, multi-disciplinary approach to its management. In Canada, community paramedics play a pivotal yet often overlooked role. Community paramedics bring a diverse array of skills, from acute medical intervention to health education and preventive care, making them invaluable assets in addressing the complex needs of patients, particularly those with chronic conditions like heart failure. By leveraging their presence within communities, they facilitate timely interventions, mitigate emergency room visits, and foster continuity of care, ultimately improving healthcare outcomes and enhancing the quality of life for patients.

This workshop brings together a distinguished pan-Canadian panel, including a paramedic chief, advanced care and community paramedics from coast to coast, and heart failure clinicians who regularly integrate these essential care partners into their practice. Their collective aim is to delve into the legislative framework underpinning community paramedic roles, offering insights into their scope of practice, medical delegation protocols, and unique skill sets. By exploring these critical aspects, participants will gain valuable insights into how community paramedics contribute to enhancing heart failure outcomes within our communities. Through interactive discussions, debates and informative presentations, attendees will gain a deeper understanding of the unique skill set possessed by community paramedics and how it aligns with the needs of heart failure patients.

Despite their pivotal contributions, community paramedics often operate in the shadows of traditional healthcare systems, with their expertise and capabilities frequently under recognized and underutilized. By elevating awareness of their unique skill set and scope of practice, this workshop seeks to shift how healthcare professionals perceive and integrate community paramedics into the broader healthcare ecosystem. Through knowledge exchange, collaborative discussions, and interactive engagement, this workshop serves as a platform for healthcare professionals to communicate, collaborate, and recognize the potential impact when physicians, nurses, and paramedics work together.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session participants will be able to:
  • understand the specialized training and skills of community paramedics that enable them to effectively manage heart failure patients outside of traditional healthcare settings. This includes their ability to assess symptoms, provide education, monitor vital signs, and intervene in emergencies;
  • recognize the importance of collaborative care models involving community paramedics, cardiologists, nurse practitioners, nurses and other healthcare professionals in optimizing heart failure management. Participants will learn about successful collaborative care models implemented across Canada and the key components of these partnerships;
  • explore the potential impact and effectiveness of integrating community paramedics into heart failure medication optimization strategies, equipping participants with insights into leveraging community-based resources and interdisciplinary collaboration to enhance patient education, medication adherence, and management of heart failure in diverse healthcare settings; and
  • evaluate the impact of community paramedics on heart failure patient outcomes through real-life case studies and data analysis. Participants will understand how community paramedics contribute to reduced hospital readmissions, improved quality of life, and increased adherence to treatment plans.
Disclosure(s):
Matt Cruchet, MSc-P, BSc, HBOR, ACP: No financial relationships to disclose
Morgan Krauter: Novartis: Speaker/Honoraria (Terminated, July 31, 2024); Pfizer: Speaker/Honoraria (Ongoing)
Aws Almufleh, MBBS, MPH, FRCPC, FASE, FACC: Boehringer Ingelheim: Speaker honoraria (Ongoing); Novartis: Quality improvement project (Terminated, November 16, 2023); Novo Nordisk: Consultant/Advisory Board (Terminated, May 29, 2024); Pfizer: Advisory board (Ongoing), Quality improvement project (Ongoing), Speaker honoraria (Ongoing)
Matthew S. Leyenaar, PhD: No financial relationships to disclose
Amanda MacIvor, n/a: No financial relationships to disclose
Nathaniel M. Hawkins, MBChB MD MPH FESC: AstraZenica: Consultancy (Ongoing), Randomized Clinical Trial (Ongoing), Speakers' Bureau (Ongoing); NovoNordisk: Advisory Board (Ongoing)
Robert JH Miller, MD, FRCPC: Pfizer: Amyloidosis research (Ongoing), Consulting (modest, <5k) (Ongoing)
Michael Nolan, n/a: No financial relationships to disclose
Haya Aziz, MD, FRCPC: No financial relationships to disclose