CAPP Physician Group: HENRY FORD MEDICAL GROUP
Project: Auto Manufacturer Care Innovation Collaborative: Heart Failure Program

Summary: Leveraging its extensive electronic medical record, Henry Ford was able to target heart-failure patients with a health-coaching intervention. The program was developed to slow disease progression, improve functional status, improve quality of life, and reduce hospitalizations and ER visits among this patient population. The model not only resulted in significant clinical improvements, but a cost savings of $3,600 per member per year.

The enrolled patients of Henry Ford’s Heart Failure Program had Stage C heart failure; they had been hospitalized for heart failure, diastolic dysfunction, and EF <40% systolic. The patients were members of the Health Alliance Plan.

The program was launched in 2004 and was part of the Care Innovation Collaborative. All three Detroit automakers identified heat failure as a high cost chronic disease.

The objectives of the program were to:

• Optimize medical therapy and drug titration targets, achieving 100% use of Ace Inhibitors, Beta blockers, and aldactone unless contraindicated
• Achieve risk-factor reduction in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and blood pressure
• Focus on Patient Education and close monitoring
• Utilizing Henry Ford’s telemedicine programs to monitor patients in the home.

The clinical results are shown in the chart below:

In addition to significant clinical improvements, the program yielded a cost savings of $3,600 per member per year. The savings was calculated by compared to a enrolled group.

Today, the program is open to all payors and is now incorporated in primary care clinics.

For more information about this project, please contact Dr. Bruce Muma, Henry Ford Medical Group at (586) 247-2670.

“Obama Visits Clinic Known for Quality Care, Controlling Costs,” by David Brown, The Washington Post, July 23, 2009

The Post takes a more in-depth look at The Cleveland Clinic, a CAPP medical group, that was touted by President Obama as a model of health care efficiency and quality.

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“Yes, models for cost-efficient health care do exist,” by Jim Landers, The Dallas Morning News, July 28, 2009

CAPP group Scott & White is featured in this article that reviews some of the Dartmouth findings on organizations that can curb health care costs.

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“Atul Gawande: The Cost Conundrum Redux,” by Atul Gawande, The New Yorker, June 23, 2009.

Gawande responds to the skeptics of his highly publicized New Yorker article.

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“The Cost Conundrum: What a Texas town can teach us about health care,” by Atul Gawande, The New Yorker, June 01, 2009

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