New at-home monitoring program for patients with high blood pressure
By Liam Connolly
UC Davis Health and Best Buy Health aim to increase access to care and prevent hospital readmissions
(SACRAMENTO)
UC Davis Health has launched a new program that monitors patients with high blood pressure at home. To support this initiative, the health system is working with Best Buy Health’s care-at-home platform, Current Health.
Patients will use connected devices including blood pressure cuffs and scales. Readings from the devices will be sent to the Current Health platform and also transferred to the patient’s UC Davis Health electronic medical chart. All readings sent from the patient’s home can be accessed by the UC Davis Health Connected Care Center in real time.
At the UC Davis Connected Care Center, a team that includes a physician, pharmacist, registered nurse and medical assistant will respond. They will work with patients to keep their blood pressure within a healthy range.
“Nearly half of the adults in the United States have hypertension. This results in 145 million emergency department visits across the U.S. each year due to elevated blood pressure,” said David Lubarsky, vice chancellor of human health sciences and CEO of UC Davis Health. “This collaboration is an example of how we are finding innovative ways to make health care more convenient and accessible for our patients — as we also work to reduce health care costs by preventing hospital readmissions and unnecessary visits.”
During the first few weeks of the new monitoring program, UC Davis Health has already enrolled several patients. With a population of 100,000 patients diagnosed with hypertension, this program has the potential to make a significant impact.
Patient benefits of remote care program
The Connected Care Center team will be able to remotely monitor patient vital signs, symptoms, and other health indicators. This will facilitate early detection of health issues and intervention.
The program’s remote patient monitoring devices include blood pressure cuffs, scales and digital tablets.
In addition, the program will offer patients group classes, one-on-one coaching and support with medication. If necessary, physicians will also intervene. The program runs for 90 days.
“Our integrated approach will provide patients with blood pressure monitoring and clinical support in real-time,” said Bruce Hall, chief clinical officer for UC Davis Health. “This collaboration is another example of how we are finding innovative ways to make health care more convenient, and more accessible to every patient, no matter who they are or where they live.”
According to the American Medical Association, hypertension leads to approximately 860,000 deaths annually due to heart disease.
“This leading-edge, digitally enabled model transforms traditional one-to-one care into one-to-many care. It improves patient outcomes, patient and clinician experience and tackles health care worker shortages and clinician burnout,” explained Vimal Mishra, associate chief medical officer at UC Davis Health. “We aim to expand this innovative approach to other conditions, driving continuous improvement in patient health.”
Culture of innovation
In the past year, the medical center has also created remote patient monitoring programs for patients suffering from heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and post-angioplasty care.
“This initiative exemplifies our approach to open innovation, integrating the latest digital and AI technologies into a unified Digital Davis platform,” said Ashish Atreja, chief information officer and chief digital health officer of UC Davis Health. “It also ensures transformation at scale, across all patients and specialties.”
In the coming months, UC Davis Health and Best Buy Health plan to expand the collaboration to support patients with additional chronic diseases. These efforts will create a more equitable, accessible and affordable continuous monitoring experience across UC Davis Health.
“Our work with UC Davis is another great example of how Best Buy Health is helping forward-thinking health care systems enable care at in the home for everyone,” said Diana Gelston, chief commercial officer at Best Buy Health. “Collaborating with UC Davis, our focus is on helping support chronic care patients take better control of their health, and we’re excited to expand these capabilities to reach even more patients with digital solutions and services.”
Additional UC Davis contributors to the blood pressure remote patient monitoring program include:
Michael Condrin, interim chief administrator of UC Davis Medical Center and chief operating officer of the Hospital Division
BJ Lagunday, executive director of Ambulatory Operations and Population Health
If you have serious symptoms of illness, contact your primary care provider. UC Davis Health patients can use the MyUCDavisHealth symptom tracker to evaluate whether to seek help. Telehealth video visits and Express Care are also available.
If you have a medical emergency, call 911 and notify them of your COVID-19 symptoms.
Ways to Seek Treatment
If you test positive for COVID-19 at home, you can contact your primary care provider about a prescription for Paxlovid.
