Clinical goals of the VA CHF QUERI identify best practices to empower Veterans and their caregivers for HF self-management. Recommendations of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association emphasize shared decision-making. In the previous preliminary study, coding of actual recordings of Veterans speaking with HT nurse care coordinators provided evidence of best practices and areas for improvement for intervention development. The effect of the HT technology as a mediator of Veteran-nurse communication requires particular re-framing in communication skills training to promote shared decision-making and self-management as recommended. This quasi-experimental study proposes the development of an evidence-based intervention to enhance HT training tailored for more effective communication for HF self-management and related outcomes.