Baptist Health’s patient engagement strategy, using Epic’s MyChart Care Companion, is proving as effective as adding a hypertension medication. Kentucky’s high hypertension rates prompted this innovative approach, aiming to address medication non-adherence and encourage blood pressure monitoring. Early data suggests a substantial reduction in systolic and diastolic pressures, akin to introducing a new medication. Grant funds, primarily used to develop the MyChart app, along with blood pressure devices for patients, have expedited the initiative’s success.
Baptist Health’s innovative patient engagement approach is proving to be as effective as adding a blood pressure medication to the treatment regimen. Their outreach program demonstrates significant clinical return on investment, harnessing patient-reported blood pressure data linked to the Epic MyChart-based interactive digital health assistant, Care Companion.
Kentucky faces a significant hypertension challenge, ranking fifth in the U.S. for adults with uncontrolled high blood pressure. This unmanaged condition escalates the risk of severe health issues like heart attacks and strokes.
THE ISSUE
The conventional method of managing hypertension involves in-office visits, medication prescriptions, lifestyle recommendations, home blood pressure monitoring, and reporting back to the healthcare provider. However, this approach fell short, according to Dr. Brett A. Oliver, Chief Medical Information Officer at Baptist Health.
“We needed a scalable alternative to enhance our patients’ lives,” explained Oliver. “The primary reason for uncontrolled hypertension is medication non-adherence.”
Various factors contribute to this non-adherence, such as cost, side effects, or underestimating the seriousness of the condition. “We hypothesized that reminders outside the clinical setting, coupled with concise educational content, would boost adherence, leading to improved blood pressure control and health outcomes.”
Establishing healthy habits like smoking cessation, regular exercise, and a balanced diet can prevent and manage hypertension.
Oliver pointed out, “High blood pressure often lurks silently. Most people with hypertension show no symptoms, even when their blood pressure readings are dangerously high. Symptoms like headaches, nosebleeds, or shortness of breath only appear at a severe stage.”
Baptist Health needed a way to motivate patients to monitor their blood pressure regularly, even when they felt well. Furthermore, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ plans to electronically measure hypertension quality solidified the need for a new strategy.
THE SOLUTION
Oliver and his team believed that increasing patient engagement outside of office visits was crucial. Recognizing the prevalence of cell phones in the population, they chose to leverage this ubiquitous technology. With additional touchpoints and reminders, Baptist Health aimed to empower patients to actively manage their blood pressure.
“Many individuals struggle with medication but hesitate to inform their physicians of these challenges or request adjustments,” noted Oliver. “They often wait until their next appointment, which could be months away, allowing their blood pressure to remain uncontrolled and silently damaging their health.”
Baptist Health adopted Epic’s MyChart Care Companion, an interactive app designed to extend a patient’s support system. It offers highly personalized and user-friendly features. Since many Baptist Health patients already used MyChart, integrating this functionality was a seamless extension of their existing routine.
“The interactive care plan allows patients to input their blood pressure readings (either manually or via Bluetooth integration with their blood pressure cuff) and data from questionnaires and symptom checkers,” Oliver explained. “If symptoms or blood pressure readings warranted attention, messages were sent to members of the patient’s care team to address important issues, avoiding the need to wait until the next visit.”
RESULTS
Although Baptist Health’s program has been operational for just over 90 days, comprehensive follow-up data is pending.
“Thus far, we have enrolled 143 patients,” reported Oliver. “For those who completed the program, our initial data indicates a significant drop of 10-11 mmHg in systolic pressure and 3-4 mmHg in diastolic pressure. This improvement is comparable to adding a new medication to a patient’s treatment regimen.”
Oliver continued, “Our team understands that without this technology, along with the provision of blood pressure cuffs to some patients, we wouldn’t have achieved these results. We have years of data confirming the challenges associated with uncontrolled hypertension.”
UTILIZING GRANT FUNDS
To support this initiative, Baptist Health secured a grant from the American Heart Association.
“The grant was specifically aimed at improving the health of McCracken County in Kentucky,” explained Jordan Ellis, Director of Operations for Value-Based Care at Baptist Health. “The Baptist Health Foundation received $87,200 in grant funding to back this project.”
“Eighty-five percent of the grant funding was allocated to develop the Epic MyChart Care Companion application, tailored for hypertension, enabling patients to upload their self-reported blood pressure readings to their electronic health records,” Ellis stated. “The remaining 15% of the grant funds were used to provide blood pressure devices to patients.”
Initial findings indicate that the grant-funded blood pressure devices played a vital role in supporting the necessary IT infrastructure. Knowing that blood pressure devices were available accelerated the project, as it ensured patients had access to the equipment, concluded Ellis.
