Ochsner Digital Health Pilot Improves Diabetes, Hypertension Outcomes
A digital health pilot conducted by Ochsner Health helped about 50 percent of hypertensive patients and almost 60 percent of type 2 diabetes patients reach their outcomes goals.
While reviewing the results of a digital health pilot, researchers from Ochsner Health found that the program led to various benefits for hypertension and type 2 diabetes patients, such as improved health outcomes and higher satisfaction levels.
Ochsner Health is one of the largest health systems in the Southeastern region of the US, with 47 hospitals and more than 370 health and urgent care centers across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and the Gulf South.
Ochsner Health created and launched its digital health pilot in June 2020 with the aim of improving outcomes for patients through enrollment in Ochsner Digital Medicine programs. These programs leverage analytics to create personalized care plans for patients and involve using a digital device to send vital signs readings to a care team for regular review.
In Louisiana, conditions such as diabetes and hypertension are prevalent. About 14 percent of the population have diabetes, and 40 percent have hypertension, according to the press release. Previously, Ochsner Health found that Medicaid programs failed to provide patients with sufficient access to care for these conditions. This led the organization to launch the digital health pilot, which has served 4,400 patients since.
After reviewing the program results, researchers concluded that it led to various clinical benefits for Medicaid beneficiaries with hypertension and type 2 diabetes. Specifically, they found that about 50 percent of all out-of-control hypertension patients reached a control level at the 90-day mark among those who enrolled in the Hypertension Digital Medicine Program. They also found that 59 percent of patients with poorly controlled diabetes reached a control level when enrolled in the Diabetes Digital Medicine Program. Both results exceeded the clinical standards of usual care.
“So meaningfully moving the needle among Medicaid patients with type 2 Diabetes and hypertension is unprecedented. We couldn’t be prouder of the results we have seen from our Louisiana Medicaid Digital Medicine Pilot,” said Denise Basow, MD, Ochsner’s chief digital officer, in a press release. “We are confident this program can be scaled to improve the lives of others across the state and around the country to mitigate the impacts of chronic disease.”
Previous research has alluded to the various benefits that digital health programs can provide.
Research from September found that various digital health solutions led to improvements in hearing care access. Those who conducted the study reached this conclusion based on the results of an audiology assessment that occurred through telehealth, which provided patients with expanded access to providers despite their remote location.
Further, providers are increasingly adopting digital health tools, a recent survey showed. Among 1,300 US physicians polled, the average number of tools used by a single physician grew from 2.2 in 2016 to 3.8 in 2022.