Table 2.

structured care characteristics in 49 physician groups

Characteristic	(% yes)
Regular clinical meetings on CHF patients	18.8
Special hours for patients with heart disease	10.4
Agreements with cardiologist on sharing of information and organization of care	24.5
Decision support
• Info materials present for patients regarding guideline adherence	58.5
• Presence of HF protocol in practice	88.6
Delivery system design
• Next appointment made immediately after visit	91.1
• Continuity of care for CHF patients is a high priority	88.9
• Frequency and content of visit are tailored to individual patients	100.0
• Clear tasks and responsibilities practice members	31.8
• Someone who assures that tasks and responsibilities are clearly defined	34.9
• Appointment system facilitates the patient seeing multiple practice employees in a single visit	13.8 #
Self-management support
• Assessment and documentation of self-management needs and activities is part of the treatment	84.4
• Patient involvement in treatment plans	86.7
• Someone responsible for self-management in patients with HF	16.3
Clinical information systems
• Reminders build in EMR	25.0
• Reminders are periodically received	11.1
• Information related to the needs of HF patients is provided to practice members	16.7
Sum score structured care characteristics (0–17; mean, SD)	8.3 (2.7)

# significant association with lifestyle advice: β = 1.0; 95% CI (0.0, 2.0); p = 0.04