ST. LOUIS - Heart failure, a condition impacting more than 6.2 million adults in the United States, happens when the heart cannot pump enough blood and oxygen to support other organs in a person’s body. Mercy physicians have been working to improve treatment of the condition, which affects more than 50,000 Mercy patients.
An article published in the December issue of New England Journal of Medicine Catalyst: Innovations in Care Delivery highlights Mercy’s collaborative efforts in advancing heart failure care and clinical decision support tools.
Titled "A Clinical Decision Support Tool to Advance Guideline-Directed Medical Therapy in Patients with Heart Failure," the published article describes work that brought together experts from various departments including virtual, cardiology, primary care, hospital, nursing, Mercy Technology Services, Office of Clinical Excellence and leadership. These interdisciplinary teams worked over two years to pool their knowledge, skills and resources, fostering an environment of innovation and shared expertise.
"I am proud of the collective efforts highlighted in this article," said Dr. Gavin Helton, Mercy president of primary care. "Heart failure is a complex condition that requires proactive, team-based care. The success of this project is a direct result of the collaborative and innovative culture of Mercy."
The article delves into Mercy’s electronic health records Epic-based smart tools and evolving clinical care models. The aim is to reduce mortality, hospitalization and symptoms in patients with heart failure by empowering the clinical team to more aggressively optimize medications to implement the latest guidelines. The publication emphasizes the real-world impact of collaborative initiatives within a health care setting.
As the organization continues to pioneer innovative solutions, Mercy looks forward to additional opportunities to collaborate, pushing the boundaries of innovative care models and patient access.
