Electronic reminders can help cardiac patients stay healthy while controlling costs, a new study confirms. Cardiac patients discharged from a formal treatment program back to their primary care physician but sent electronic risk maintenance reminders remained as healthy as patients who stayed in the formal program, the study found.
The study looked at 421 patients with well-controlled blood pressure and cholesterol levels who were enrolled in Kaiser Permanente Colorado's long-term treatment program. The patients were randomized so that 214 continued in the program and 207 were discharged.
The discharged patients had reminders in their electronic health records that annually sent letters to primary care physicians to ensure they ordered lipid panels. The patients also received reminder letters from the EHR notifying them that they were due for a lab test.
The EHR intervention was just as effective at keeping cholesterol and blood pressure in check as the more intensive counseling approach offered to those patients who stayed enrolled in the program, according to the study.
"The take-away message here is that we can help support patients in maintaining treatment goals and medication adherence, which is often a challenge with the most chronic conditions," says lead study author Kari Olson, a clinical pharmacy specialist. "Using technology and integrated systems already in place, we can help keep patients healthy for longer and deliver continuity of care in a cost-effective manner."
The study is published in the current issue of the American Journal of Managed Care, at ajmc.com.
--Joseph Goedert
AUG 7, 2009 12:43pm ET
Study: EHRs Aid in Cardiac Maintenance
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