Sub Groups

To increase access to evidence-based cardiac rehabilitation and provide options for secondary prevention to be offered through alternate modes of delivery (telephone, videoconference, Web, General Practice), this sub-group will focus on developing business models to incentivize cardiac rehabilitation in general practice, support remote delivery of cardiac rehabilitation and support transition of care from specialist care to primary care.

Chair - Robyn Clark, Flinders University
Deputy Chair - Rosy Tirimacco, iCCnet/Rural Support Service
Member - Phil Tideman, Flinders University/iCCnet
Member - Ken Wanguhu, RACGP
Member - Frances Graetz, Country SA Primary Health Network
Member - Billingsley Kaambwa, Flinders University
Member - Claudine Clark
(Health Economics) Member - Research Fellow

CHAP Project Business Case Report

• Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is only attended by 20-50% of eligible patients despite high level evidence that supports its benefit and cost effectiveness.
• Research on the reasons for non-attendance have cited cost, access to rural & remote, cultural, and linguistic barriers.
• Giving patients a choice in the way cardiac rehabilitation is delivered to them is important to their motivation to successfully complete a program of cardiac rehabilitation.
• In collaboration with the Integrated Cardiac Clinical Network (iCCnet), Country Access to Telephone Cardiac Health (CATCH) and Brentnalls SA, we have developed a business model based on integrating current care to support the option of patients receiving their cardiac rehabilitation through their primary care.
• The following business model for CR programs place the GP at the centre of the model of care by coordinating, monitoring, and assessing the patient’s progress.

Download Report Here

Known barriers to cardiac rehabilitation attendance include access to programs due to distance or returning to work.

Accessing cardiac rehabilitation is particularly difficult for those in regional, rural and remote areas where significant travel to cardiac rehabilitation programs is involved. Alternative methods for provision of cardiac rehabilitation have shown to be effective but few have been implemented in practice.

This sub-group will be delivering standardised cardiac rehabilitation across four different modalities; face-to-face, telephone, through GP practices (Hybrid) and a web-based programs.

Cardiac rehabilitation participants can choose one or more delivery modalities that suits them in order to help them attend and complete their program.

This sub-group will include a PhD training position.

This sub-group will also focus on the economic evaluation of each of the modalities of delivery of CHAP investigating 3 components:
- overall cost effectiveness compared to usual care
- the cost efficiencies to health services
- cost benefit to rural and remote patients and families

The economic evaluation will be led by the specialist health economists in our team and will include a post-doctoral training position

Chair - Robyn Clark, Flinders University
(Health Economics) Deputy Chair - Research Fellow
Member - Rosy Tirimacco, iCCnet/Rural Support Service
Member - Alline Beleigoli, Flinders University
Member - Kay Govin, Flinders University
Member - Carmine De Pasquale, CSANZ
Member - Phil Tideman, Flinders University/iCCnet
Member - Carol Maher, University of South Australia
Member - Anthony Maeder, Flinders University
Member - Imelda Lynch, Heart Foundation
Member - Marie Ludlow, Heart Foundation
Member - Ken Wanguhu, RACGP
Member - Jereon Hendriks, Flinders University
(PhD Candidate) Member - Katie Nesbitt

This sub-group will examine, the rates of evidence based cardiovascular pharmacotherapy which will be measured both pre and post the implementation of CHAP and between CHAP and non-CHAP groups.

This sub-group will include a post-doctoral training position.

Chair - Robyn Clark, Flinders University
(Pharmacy) Deputy Chair - Research Fellow
Member - Andrew Tayler, AstraZeneca
Member - Kay Govin, Flinders University
Member - Rosy Tirimacco, iCCnet/Rural Support Service
Member - Stephen Nicholls, Monash University/Monash Heart
Member - John Beltrame, University of Adelaide

Exercise and activity are crucial components of cardiac rehabilitation. A challenge for remotely delivered programs is obtaining objective activity data from participants to monitor their progress.

This sub-group will develop and evaluate a cost-effective and simple solution to embed activity data within all cardiac rehabilitation delivery modalities.

Chair - Alline Beleigoli, Flinders University
Deputy Chair - Robyn Clark, Flinders University
Member - Stephanie Champion, Flinders University
Member - Rosy Tirimacco, iCCnet/Rural Support Service
Member - Anthony Maeder, Flinders University
Member - Claudine Clark, iCCnet/Rural Support Service
Member - Carol Maher, University of South Australia
Member - Kade Davidson, University of South Australia
Member - Ivanka Prichard, Flinders University

To meet national cardiac rehabilitation quality standards and achieve high quality service, this stream of work will pilot a state wide credentialing program.

This sub-group project has been funded by SA Health and the outcomes will inform national programs for measuring the quality of cardiac rehabilitation services.

Chair - Alline Beleigoli, Flinders University
Deputy Chair - Claudine Clark
Member - Carolyn Astley, Flinders University
Member - Robyn Clark, Flinders University
Member - Rosy Tirimacco, iCCnet/Rural Support Service
Member - Michelle McKinnon, SA Health
Member - Vanessa Poulson, Heart Foundation
Members of the Coalition - Accreditation Sub-Committee

The CHAP study will generate substantial, high quality, state wide cardiac rehabilitation data from all our sub-group activities, most notably the pre/post implementation and case control studies that will be used to evaluate the CHAP cardiac rehabilitation models compared to usual care.

This sub-group will oversee the governance and security of all data generated by the CHAP program of research and advise on Linkage to other SA Health Datasets as required.

Chair - Robyn Clark, Flinders University
Deputy Chair - Alline Beleigoli, Flinders University
Member - Derek Chew, Flinders University

We know that when a clinician recommends cardiac rehabilitation patients are more likely to attend.

This sub-group will focus on how we can improve clinician recommendation (both cardiologists and general practitioners) and will include measuring clinician knowledge, values and beliefs to cardiac rehabilitation referral and participation. 

Chair - Alline Beleigoli, Flinders University
Deputy Chair - Carolyn Astley, Flinders University
Member - Wendy Keech, Health Translation SA/SAHMRI
Member - Stephen Nicholls, Monash University/Monash Heart
Member - Alex Brown, University of Adelaide/SAHMRI
Member - John Beltrame, University of Adelaide
Member - Phil Tideman, Flinders University/iCCnet
Member - Imelda Lynch, Heart Foundation
Member - Marie Ludlow, Heart Foundation
Member - Matthew Worthley

It is critical that every eligible person discharged from hospital with a cardiac event, or diagnosed with cardiac risk factors be offered cardiac rehabilitation.

This sub-group will review and improve upon automated systems of referral to cardiac rehabilitation.

Chair - Rosy Tirimacco, iCCnet/Rural Support Service
Deputy Chair - Robyn Clark, Flinders University
Member - Margaret Arstall, SA Health
Member - Frances Graetz, Country SA Primary Health Network
Member - Ken Wanguhu, RACGP
Member - Claudine Clark, iCCnet/Rural Support Service
Member - Jodie Thomas, iCCnet/Rural Support Service
Member - Jereon Hendriks, Flinders University
Member - Alline Beleigoli, Flinders University