How Baron Cardiology Identified a Win-Win Remote Blood Pressure Monitoring Program
Listen to the 15-minute interview here:
When Jackie Martin, Director of Quality Assurance for Baron Cardiology, noticed a Medicare coding update for remote monitoring, she identified the opportunity to:
(A) improve the remote care options for their 1,400 patients and
(B) create a new revenue stream for the practice.
Selecting QardioArm
With blood pressure hypertension at the top of their list for remote monitoring needs, they did their diligence and selected the QardioArm cuff as it met the criteria for coding, had positive reviews from peers and patients alike, and offered robust and responsive support — a must-have for the small practice.
“I think there was only one other viable solution and it just didn’t have the infrastructure or the support that we were looking for. QardioArm was hands down the best product that was going to meet our needs.”
– Jackie Martin
Success for Patients & Practice
Fast-forward three years and Baron Cardiology is seeing notable success from the program.
84% patient compliance (and with a recent Medical Assistant hire they are hoping to grow their compliance rate to over 90%)
Nearly 20% of their patients are enrolled in the program with an average success rate of 1 out of every 3 eligible patients choosing to enroll
707% ROI per patient per year from reimbursements
Once they made the decision to cover the cost of the cuff for their patients, enrollment and ROI steadily grew.
“For patients who download regularly, it’s about $1,200 a year in revenue. So spending $74 [on the product] to make $1,200… anyone would make that investment I think.”
What’s driving these positive results? A combination of effective and easy-to-use technology and an organized and efficient program-owner within the practice. In fact, that is Baron Cardiology’s #1 advice for seeing positive results from your remote blood pressure monitoring program: have a dedicated owner.
Once a key stakeholder is in place, you can build a seamless, rinse-repeat process to boost better outcomes for patients.
Driving Remote Monitoring Program Efficacy in 7 simple steps
Identify a Program Owner:
Find the right person to own and manage the program. It’s an added bonus if that person has a clinical background but is also proficient and comfortable with technology. Baron Cardiology hired a part-time hypertension nurse, Sarah Rowe, RN, BSN.
Build a Repeatable Process:
Baron Cardiology identifies all of their patients who have hypertension and flags their accounts. This is a daily process where they look at the schedule every morning, and if Dr. Baron has not yet spoken to those flagged patients about Qardio, whoever is at the front desk will fill out a form letting Dr. Baron know that the patient is qualified and what their co-pay will be.
Enroll Patients in Person:
Rather than calling eligible patients to pitch the program, Baron Cardiology waits until they can speak to their doctor in person; a more trust-based and focused scenario.
Emphasize Ease of Use:
When discussing QardioArm with patients (either for enrollment or for continued compliance), reiterate that it takes about 20 seconds to use and it is incredibly simple.
“A couple of clicks of a button, 20 seconds and you’re done. Once you get the routine of it, you’re not even going to notice it’s taking time out of your day.”
Establish a Follow-Up Cadence:
Stay organized and on top of follow-up calls to check in with patients, ask for data, and make sure they’re actively reporting. Baron Cardiology uses a simple Excel spreadsheet to track and manage compliance during the month.
Educate:
The program owner for Baron Cardiology knew that education and emotional buy-in are important for compliance so she created a handout that helps drive home the possible negative outcomes of staying hypertensive as well as helpful ways to lower their blood pressure.
Lead with Understanding:
Baron Cardiology has found that leading with compassion and a bit of leniency has actually helped with patient compliance. Letting them know that if they forgot to report for a few days or went on vacation and didn’t bring their QardioArm that it’s okay and they can keep going.
“I try to build a relationship with them… As I’m downloading [their data] I try to just talk about their family and stuff. I try to not just make it a business call and just talk to them. It seems like so many of them really appreciate that.”
Want to Kickstart Your Remote Blood Pressure Monitoring Program with Qardio?
Acknowledgment: Special thanks to Jackie Martin and Sarah Rowe for their time and input and to Keesag Baron,
M.D., interventional cardiologist, electrophysiologist and owner of Baron Cardiology.