Empowering providers to confidently treat patients with HFrEF
1 million
New patients with heart failure per year in the US1
8 million
Heart failure patients in the US by 20302
$30,000
Annual cost of care for one patient with heart failure in the US3
Retrieving and analyzing EHR data to recommend guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT)
Management of HFrEF requires prescribing 4 classes of approved medications at maximum tolerated doses. Overwhelming evidence shows maximizing GDMT significantly decreases hospitalizations, morbidity and mortality. The CHAMP-HF study showed only 1.1% of patients were on 3 classes of drugs (Triple Therapy) at maximum GDMT. The reasons are multifactorial, including clinical inertia, time constraints, and patient understanding. Updates to the 2018 Guideline now include a 4th class of medications to form the “4 Pillars” of HFrEF management, further increasing the complexity of treatment.
MedsEngine Heart Failure is designed to aid primary care providers and heart failure clinics to treat patients consistently and with confidence.
Steady Steps to Manage HFrEF
Step 1: Initiate Assessment
Action
After the provider launches MedsEngine from their EHR, a snapshot of relevant laboratory results and metrics are displayed for all available diseases. “HFrEF” is selected from the list of chronic diseases to assess that day.
Outcome
MedsEngine retrieves pertinent factors from the EHR, including renal function, potassium, heart rate, systolic blood pressure, total body water from impedance cardiography, and current HFrEF medications, for display and verification.
Step 2: Verify HFrEF Factors and Medications
Action
On the Validation page, the provider reviews the vital signs, clinical factors, and labs. Patients confirm taking the daily doses of the HFrEF medications retrieved from the EHR.
Outcome
MedsEngine analyzes the verified data to generate and display safe medication recommendations.
Step 3: Choose Medication Action
Action
The provider reviews the recommendations and chooses to start, maintain, increase, decrease, change, or stop any medication according to the patient's clinical factors. Timely follow-up recommendations are provided to encourage rapid up-titration of GDMT.
Outcome
MedsEngine empowers the provider to confidently and safely up-titrate medications to maximally tolerated GDMT.
Conclusions
With a shortage of heart failure cardiologists, it is imperative that patients with HFrEF be treated effectively by primary care providers, general cardiologists, and heart failure clinics. MedsEngine empowers physicians and APPs to feel comfortable and confident treating these patients.
Maximizing GDMT improves the patient’s quality of life and reduces mortality. In addition, it markedly reduces the risk of emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and 30-day readmissions. Patients, families, and payors all benefit from the very high value of maximizing GDMT.
The mean cost for one HFrEF hospitalization in the US was $11,600-$17,779 and for one ED visit was $3,526 (2014-2019).4 Tremendous ROI is possible for practitioners in value-based settings and health systems impacted by HF readmissions.
1 Virani SS, Alonso A, Benjamin EJ, Bittencourt MS, et al; American Heart Association Council on Epidemiology and Prevention Statistics Committee and Stroke Statistics Subcommittee. Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics-2020 Update: A Report From the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2020. Mar 3;141(9):e139–e596..
2 Heidenreich PA, Albert NM, Allen LA, Bluemke DA, Butler J, Fonarow GC, et al; American Heart Association Advocacy Coordinating Committee; Council on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology; Council on Cardiovascular Radiology and Intervention; Council on Clinical Cardiology; Council on Epidemiology and Prevention; Stroke Council. Forecasting the impact of heart failure in the United States: a policy statement from the American Heart Association. Circ Heart Fail 2013;6:606–19.
3 Khan SU, Khan MZ, Alkhouli M. Trends of Clinical Outcomes and Health Care Resource Use in Heart Failure in the United States. J Am Heart Assoc. 2020. Jul 21;9(14):e016782..
4 Osenenko KM, Kuti E, Deighton AM, Pimple P, Szabo SM. Burden of hospitalization for heart failure in the United States: a systematic literature review. J Manag Care Spec Pharm. 2022 Feb;28(2):157-167. doi: 10.18553/jmcp.2022.28.2.157.
