A recent pilot program by Kaiser Permanente has drastically improved the heart attack survival rate for its Colorado members. The “Collaborative Cardiac Care Service” program was instituted as a pilot program in the state of  Colorado only. The program consists of integrated nursing and pharmacy teams that work closely with heart disease patients and their physicians. The entire group is then connected to an electronic health record and clinical care registry, which allows the medical professionals to deliver more precise health care.

But the new technology does more than just help the professionals deliver complete care; it also helps guide the patient through their short- and long-term health care routines. The program coordinates such things as patient lifestyle modification, medication management, patient education, laboratory results monitoring, and accurate management of adverse effects

The results of the Kaiser Permanente pilot program have been overwhelmingly positive:

• Patients have an 88% reduced risk of dying of a cardiac-related cause, if they are enrolled in the program within 90 days of a heart attack

• The number of patients regularly screened for cholesterol jumped from 55% to 97%

• The number of patients that actually met their cholesterol goal skyrocketed from 26% to 73%

In fact, it has been estimated that the Collaborative Cardiac Care Service pilot program prevented more than 135 deaths and 260 costly emergency interventions per year.

The results of the Pilot program were demonstrated last week at the Washington, D.C. briefing, “Reforming the Health Care Delivery System: A Team Approach.”  Ken Halvorson, chairman and CEO of Kaiser Permanente, stressed the importance of not only using technology in the medical field, but also proper training of that technology. According to Halvorson, caregivers must be thoroughly trained in the proper ways to utilize new technologies to achiever better health outcomes.

Technology itself cannot solve the health care crisis. Our Colorado region achieved quality care results by aligning people and technology in the most efficient care delivery system. It was not newer or more expensive treatments, but an integrated approach to deliver the right care at the right time.

- Ken Halvorson, chairman and CEO of Kaiser Permanente

For more information, see the Kaiser Permanente Press Release: Kaiser Permanente Pilot Reduces Cardiac Deaths By 73 Percent

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