Newswise — ALEXANDRIA, VA – The national Measure Up/Pressure Down® hypertension campaign recognized 43 medical groups across the nation for their blood pressure control and improvement rates on a virtual campaign anniversary event today. Awards were presented to participating groups and health systems in specific categories – best control rate, most improvement, and quickest improvement – as well as progress towards campaign goal of 80% hypertension control by 2016. Award category winners include: • Best Control Rates (<150 full-time equivalent physicians): PriMed Physicians with 90.02% control• Best Control Rates (≥150 full-time equivalent physicians): Springfield Clinic with 89.39% control• Most Improvement (<150 full-time equivalent physicians): Wellmont Medical Associates with 20.07% improvement• Most Improvement (≥150 full-time equivalent physicians): UnityPoint Clinic with 6.07% improvement• Quickest Improvement (<150 full-time equivalent physicians): PriMed Physicians with 8.63% improvement• Quickest Improvement (≥150 full-time equivalent physicians): UnityPoint Clinic with 5.84% improvement
Participating groups report campaign data to the Measure Up/Pressure Down® campaign and the AMGA’s Anceta data collaborative. Data are based on national quality measurement standards, including National Quality Forum (NQF) measure 0018 (the percentage of patients 18-85 years of age who had a diagnosis of hypertension and whose blood pressure was adequately controlled during the measurement year). The National Committee for Quality Assurance is the measurement steward for NQF 0018. Detailed information regarding measurement and data reporting specifications is available on the campaign website here.
Representatives from campaign partners and sponsors, including Janet Wright, MD, FACC, Executive Director of the Million Hearts® initiative and Stephanie Farber, Marketing Specialist, Withings, virtually presented the awards to the category winners. More than forty campaign participants were also recognized during the anniversary event for their progress towards the overall goal.
These campaign awards come less than a month after the Measure Up/Pressure Down® unveiled its most recent data, which showed a hypertension control average of 71 percent across reporting groups – which compares to a national control average of 47 percent according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since the launch of the campaign, nearly 280,000 patients have improved hypertension detection or control.
“We are proud to recognize 43 medical groups participating in Measure Up/Pressure Down® for their accomplishments in blood pressure control and improvement,” says Donald W. Fisher, Ph.D., CAE, President and Chief Executive Officer of American Medical Group Association and Secretary of the Board of AMGF. “Control rates significantly above the national average reinforce the importance of team-based, coordinated care for the diagnosis and management of chronic conditions such as hypertension.”
As part of its efforts, Measure Up/Pressure Down® mobilizes medical groups and health systems across the nation to achieve the goal of having 80 percent of their patients with high blood pressure under control by 2016. The campaign encourages these organized systems of care to adopt one or more evidence-based care processes (“campaign planks”) that lead to measurable improvements in high blood pressure outcomes, as well as provides the tools and resources necessary to implement such care processes.
Since the AMGF launched the campaign in late 2012, nearly 150 participating medical groups and health systems delivering care to more than 42 million patients are using campaign planks and accompanying resources developed by Measure Up/Pressure Down® to improve hypertension prevention, detection, and control.
The Measure Up/Pressure Down® campaign is the first initiative of the Chronic Care Challenge, a long-term effort by the AMGF — AMGA’s nonprofit education and research arm — to improve quality of care and patient outcomes for chronic conditions with the greatest impact.
Campaign partners and sponsors include: Aetna, American Heart Association, American Kidney Fund, American Society of Hypertension, American Stroke Association, Association of Black Cardiologists, Baptist Medical Group, Daiichi Sankyo, Inc., Epic, HealthyWomen, Humedica, Institute for Health and Productivity Management, Institute for Healthcare Improvement, Men’s Health Network, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Million Hearts® initiative, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association, Ralphs, Right Care, Withings, and WomenHeart.
For more information about the campaign, visit www.MeasureUpPressureDown.com.
# # #
About the Measure Up/Pressure Down® CampaignThe American Medical Group Foundation (AMGF), the nonprofit arm of the American Medical Group Association, launched Measure Up/Pressure Down®, a three-year national campaign to improve care and reduce the burden of high blood pressure on November 29, 2012. Measure Up/Pressure Down® includes nearly 150 medical groups, health systems and national partners such as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Kaiser Permanente, and Geisinger Health System. The goal of the three-year campaign is to have 80 percent of high blood pressure patients in control of their condition by 2016. www.measureuppressuredown.com
About AMGFThe American Medical Group Foundation (AMGF) is the nonprofit arm of the American Medical Group Association and it supports and disseminates research on better ways to deliver health care that is scientifically sound and value-based. AMGF also develops and supports educational programs to enable all stakeholders-providers, payers, policymakers and patients to translate the evidence of what works best into everyday practice. www.amga.org/foundation
About AncetaAnceta is AMGA's collaborative for improving population health through comparative clinical analytics, conducted in partnership with Humedica, an Optum company. The collaborative’s goal is better health outcomes at lower overall cost.www.anceta.com
About AMGAThe American Medical Group Association (AMGA) is a 501(c)(6) trade association representing medical groups, health systems, and other organized systems of care, including some of the nation's largest, most prestigious integrated delivery systems. AMGA is a leading voice in advocating for efficient, team-based, and accountable care. AMGA members encompass all models of organized systems of care in the healthcare industry, including: physician-owned, independent group practices, integrated delivery systems, hospital-affiliated medical groups, independent practice associations (IPAs), academic and faculty practices, accountable care organizations, and high-performing health systems. More than 150,000 physicians practice in AMGA member organizations, providing healthcare services for 120 million patients (approximately one in three Americans). Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, AMGA is the strategic partner for these organizations, providing a comprehensive package of benefits, including political advocacy, educational and networking programs, publications, benchmarking data services, and financial and operations assistance. www.amga.org
1. Best control rates are based on self-reported data Q2 2014 data submitted through the Measure Up/Pressure Down® data portal2. Most improvement is based on self-reported data from Q2 2013 to Q2 2014 submitted through the Measure Up/Pressure Down® data portal3. Quickest improvement is based on self-reported data from any two consecutive quarters submitted through the Measure Up/Pressure Down® data portal
RSS