Impact of an assessment form on promoting in-hospital initiation of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors in hospitalized patients with heart failure.

Background: Despite the established benefits of in-hospital administration of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) in patients with heart failure (HF), their implementation remains insufficient. To investigate whether the use of an Assessment Form influences SGLT2i prescriptions at discharge among hospitalized patients with HF. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed consecutive patients with HF from a prospective registry between September 2024 and August 2025 after the implementation of an Assessment Form. Patients who died during hospitalization were excluded. The Assessment Form was completed collaboratively by physicians and nurses. Physicians checked whether guideline-directed medical therapy (including SGLT2i) had been prescribed, and documented the reasons if not initiated, while nurses evaluated the patients' pre-hospital living conditions and self-care abilities. The primary endpoint was the prescription rate of SGLT2i at discharge according to the Assessment Form. Results: Among the 208 analyzed patients (median age, 81 years [range, 75-87] years, 59 % male], the Assessment Form was used by 61.1 % (127/208). The prescription rate of SGLT2i at discharge was significantly higher in patients who completed the Assessment Form than in those who did not (65.4 % vs. 45.7 %, Conclusion: Implementation of an Assessment Form was associated with increased initiation of in-hospital SGLT2i therapy. The active use of such structured forms may help promote adherence to guideline-directed therapies during hospitalization for HF.