Remote Health Care Helps Heart Failure Patients Get the Right Medications Faster
Study finds the remote care model improves treatment for heart failure patients
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DURHAM, N.C. – For millions of Americans living with heart failure, getting the right medications at the right doses can be a slow and frustrating process, which can lead to delayed treatment adjustments, undertreatment and risks for worsening symptoms.
A new study led by Duke Health shows that a remote digital program may offer a safe, faster way for heart failure patients to get the care they need from home.
The study, presented as a late-breaker at the Heart Failure Society of America's Annual Scientific Meeting, highlights a critical issue in heart care access. Nearly half of U.S. counties don’t have a cardiologist, leaving many patients without expert guidance.
“We need scalable tools to reach people where they are,” said Adam DeVore, M.D., associate professor in the Department of Medicine at the Duke University School of Medicine and the study’s lead author. “If you look across the roughly 3,100 counties in the United States, 46% don't have a cardiologist.”
“People who live in areas without that access experience more heart disease and are more likely to die from heart problems,” DeVore said. “Add to that, appointments for medication titration are a real challenge in heart failure care. There are a lot of real-world barriers that make it really difficult.”
The research was funded by Innovaccer Inc., which developed Story Health, the digital care platform evaluated in the trial.
The study found patients who used the remote program to connect with care for the management of heart failure medications saw greater improvements in their regimens compared to those receiving usual care, and no increase in hospitalizations or emergency visits.
The multicenter randomized clinical trial, coordinated by the Duke Heart Center, enrolled 178 patients across seven U.S. health systems. Participants used blood pressure cuffs and scales that connected to their mobile device to track their health daily.
Their data was sent to clinicians through the secure digital platform, which also provided personalized medication recommendations. Health coaches helped patients navigate logistics like lab tests and pharmacy access, making it easier to adjust medications without needing frequent in-person visits.
The digital program improved medication use across all four foundational therapies for heart failure. Patients were more likely to reach target doses of key drugs that help manage heart failure and reduce hospitalizations (beta-blockers, ARNI, MRA and SGLT2 inhibitors.)
Dr. DeVore believes the findings offer a promising new option for clinicians and health systems looking to improve care for heart failure patients.
“A remote platform offers a scalable option for both clinicians and health systems to try to improve the care we’re already providing to patients with heart failure,” DeVore said.
“If we can get people on the right doses and the right number of medicines sooner,” DeVore said, “they have the possibility of living longer and staying out of the hospital more.”
In addition to DeVore, study authors include Cynthia L. Green, Nancy M. Albert, Amir R. Haghighat, Sunit-Preet Chaudhry, Hirak Shah, Mosi K. Bennett, Tom Stanis, Ashul Govil, Trejeeve Martyn, Jaime McDermott, Mirza S. Khan, Andrew J. Sauer.