Using Remote Patient Care to Help Patients with Heart Disease and Hypertension
February is American Heart Month, a time when all people can focus on their heart health and the nation spotlights heart disease, the number 1 cause of death in America (1). According to the CDC, one person dies every 36 seconds in the United States from cardiovascular disease (2).
The American Heart Association (AHA)’s mission is to be a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives. In an article titled “How to Help Prevent Heart Disease At Any Age,” the AHA states that no mater the age group, “everyone can benefit from a healthy diet and adequate physical activity.”
A heart-healthy eating plan can be described as one low in saturated fat, trans fat and sodium with lots of fruits and vegetables, fiber-rich whole grains, fish, low-fat dairy or dairy alternatives and limited sugars (3). This diet is often described as the DASH diet, “Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (4). The problem is finding a way to deliver this information to patients efficiently and in a way that’s easy to follow and monitor.
BodySite’s mission is to empower healthcare providers to provide better care to patients in between office visits. And since 1 in every 4 deaths can be attributed to cardiovascular disease, BodySite has built a library of heart-healthy care plans in its stock library of over 60 programs, including the DASHDietRx and the ModernDASH Diet (2).
The DASHDietRx is the traditional DASH diet whereas the ModernDASH incorporates dairy alternatives instead of low-fat dairy products. Both programs serve as turnkey solutions to help doctors prescribe the DASH diet to patients, in order to help alleviate symptoms associated with heart disease. They include educational videos about heart disease, healthy eating and physical activity guidance and are fully equipped with daily breakfast, lunch and dinner recipes that fit the DASH style of eating.
By using BodySite’s remote care platform, you can automatically deliver these programs to your patients with only a click of a few buttons, saving you both time and money and improving patient outcomes and compliance. In addition to the digital programs, we’ve also created practice toolkits to help you easily market these programs to your patients and implement the solution in your practice.
The DashDietRx Practice Toolkit includes:
- Digital Care Plan for Patients
- Patient Marketing Video
- Office Flyers
- Patient Education Powerpoint
- Patient Education Video
- Promotional Social Media Graphics
If you already have an account with BodySite, the DashDietRx plan is already available in your account. You can find the plan by going to Plans > Available Plans & Templates. Hover over the plan and select “Copy & Edit” to start using it with your patients. The flyer, marketing video, presentation and other toolkit resources can all be found under the “Implementation Toolkit” section of the plan.
In addition to providing turnkey solutions to help doctors more easily offer lifestyle recommendations to patients with hypertension and heart disease, BodySite will participate in National Wear Red Day®, celebrated each year on the first Friday in February, in order to shine a light on cardiovascular disease, the number 1 cause of death in America.
If you’re not already using the BodySite remote patient care platform and solution, try it completely free for 30 days at this link.
Resource List:
Resource #1 – https://www.heart.org/en/around-the-aha/february-is-american-heart-month
Resource #2 – https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm
Resource #3 – https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-lifestyle/how-to-help-prevent-heart-disease-at-any-age
Resource #4 – https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/education/dash-eating-plan