Heart failure program aims for better patient outcomes across Michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Cardiovascular care leaders in Michigan will launch a population health program focused on improving the quality of care for patients with heart failure across the state. 

The BMC2 Heart Failure Quality Improvement Program will be led by the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Cardiovascular Consortium (BMC2), a statewide collaborative quality initiative hosted at Michigan Medicine.  It will bring together clinicians and quality partners to identify and eliminate gaps in care using data-driven insights. 

Clinical practices that participate will receive performance benchmarks and feedback to support more consistent delivery of guideline-recommended medical care, with an early focus on heart failure therapies.

“The launch of this program represents a resounding commitment to advancing best practices in heart failure care through cross-center, multidisciplinary collaboration,” said Jessica R. Golbus, M.D., M.S., a heart failure and transplant cardiologist at the University of Michigan Health Frankel Cardiovascular Center and Director of BMC2 Heart Failure. 

“By leveraging data, we can identify opportunities to extend the highest-quality care to a population of patients that is growing in our state.”

More than 6 million Americans are living with heart failure, and that number is projected to reach 10 million by 2040. 

Heart failure occurs when the organ cannot fill with or pump blood effectively enough to meet the body’s needs, most commonly due to coronary artery disease, high blood pressure or heart valve disease.

Nearly half of cases are classified as heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, or HFrEF, meaning the left ventricle cannot pump efficiently.

The program will initially focus on patients with HFrEF, for which effective treatments are available. 

A combination of four guideline-directed medications has been shown to significantly reduce mortality and hospitalizations for HFrEF. However, studies indicate that fewer than 1 in 6 eligible patients receive the full treatment regimen.  

“Despite clear evidence of overwhelming benefit to patients, quadruple therapy is rarely prescribed at optimal doses,” Nicholas Osborne, M.D., M.S., the Ramon Berguer, MD, PhD, Research Professor of Vascular Surgery at U-M Medical School and Director of BMC2. 

“Our initial efforts will focus on prescribing lifesaving medical therapies for patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, though these efforts will expand in subsequent years to include all patients with heart failure and to ensure guideline-alignment in areas beyond just medications.”

Heart failure contributed to nearly half of all U.S. cardiovascular deaths in 2022 and accounted for $32 billion in direct medical costs in 2020.

Hospitalizations for heart failure, which are generally higher in HFrEF, made up nearly 40% of those costs. 

Leaders of BMC2 Heart Failure say the work to eliminate gaps in care will reduce hospitalizations, directly lowering costs for patients, clinicians and insurance providers.

“Our program’s Patient Advisory Council will ensure that the patient and caregiver voices remain central throughout implementation by shaping priorities and providing feedback that directly informs improvements to workflows, materials and support pathways,” said Mollie Bodin, M.A., BMC2’s Administrative Director.

In its first year, program leaders will establish a data strategy which will be implemented across five practices in Michigan in the second year. 

Heart failure remains one of the most prevalent and costly chronic conditions facing our healthcare system, requiring a more coordinated, data-driven approach to care,” said Faris Ahmad, M.D., M.B.A., Senior Medical Director at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.

“Building on the success of BMC2’s proven collaborative registry model, the BMC2 Heart Failure Quality Improvement Program will help hospitals identify care gaps, implement evidence-based best practices, and improve outcomes for patients across Michigan. By supporting more consistent, high-quality care and reducing preventable hospitalizations, this initiative has the potential to deliver meaningful value for patients, providers, and the healthcare system as a whole.”

About BMC2: BMC2 includes the Michigan Cardiac Rehab Network and multi-center quality improvement programs for PCI, vascular surgery, heart failure, and transcatheter valve replacement and repair.

Support for BMC2 is provided by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network as part of the BCBSM Value Partnerships program.

Although Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and BMC2 work collaboratively, the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, beliefs, and viewpoints of BCBSM or any of its employees.

Further, BCBSM does not have access to BMC2 data, and all patient episodes occurring at engaged hospitals are included in the data registries, regardless of payer.

About Michigan Medicine: At Michigan Medicine, we advance health to serve Michigan and the world. We pursue excellence every day in our 12 hospitals and hundreds of clinics statewide, as well as educate the next generation of physicians, health professionals and scientists in our U-M Medical School.

Michigan Medicine includes the U-M Medical School and University of Michigan Health, which includes the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital, University Hospital, the Frankel Cardiovascular Center, Kellogg Eye Center, University of Michigan Health-West, University of Michigan-Sparrow and the Rogel Cancer Center. The U-M Medical School is one of the nation’s biomedical research powerhouses, with total research funding of more than $750 million.

More information is available at www.michiganmedicine.org. 

About Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, a nonprofit mutual insurance company, is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. BCBSM provides health benefits to more than 4.7 million members residing in Michigan in addition to employees of Michigan-headquartered companies residing outside the state. The company has been committed to delivering affordable health care products through a broad variety of plans for businesses, individuals and seniors for over 80 years. Beyond health care coverage, BCBSM supports impactful community initiatives and provides leadership in improving health care. For more information, visit bcbsm.com and MiBlueDaily.com.