An engaged front-line team, supported by an electronic health record and a clinical care registry, is credited with reducing the deaths of patients with coronary health disease by 73 percent, according to the results of a Colorado program piloted by Kaiser Permanente.

The program, the Collaborative Cardiac Care Service, links coronary artery disease patients and teams of pharmacists, nurses, primary care doctors and cardiologists with an electronic health record and advanced clinical care registry.

Kaiser demonstrated the results of the pilot Friday in Washington, D.C., at a briefing called "Reforming the Health Care Delivery System: A Team Approach." The briefing was co-sponsored by the Alliance for Health Reform, Kaiser Permanente and the AFL-CIO.

With the federal government poised to invest billions of dollars in health information technology, George C. Halvorson, chairman and CEO of Kaiser Permanente, stressed the importance of caregivers' training, coordination and ability to use technology in achieving better health outcomes.

Halvorson, joined by Kaiser Permanente practitioners in Colorado, outlined how the organization has put technology – including the Kaiser Permanente HealthConnect EHR – into the hands of health providers to enable a full spectrum of personalized and coordinated care. The care includes proactive patient outreach, education, lifestyle adjustments and effective medication management, among other tactics.

"Technology itself cannot solve the healthcare crisis," Halvorson said. "Our Colorado region achieved quality care results by aligning people and technology in the most efficient care delivery system. It was not newer or more expensive treatments, but an integrated approach to deliver the right care at the right time. Maximizing information for the clinician means optimizing care for the patient. As Congress and the president engage on healthcare reform, we must focus on the need to change the way we deliver care."

"Front-line healthcare workers will be the lynchpin in transforming healthcare in this country," said John Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, a voluntary federation of 56 national and international unions that represent 11 million workers. "Kaiser Permanente's success in using technology has underscored that the integration and optimization of a health IT system are dependent on people. Both effective computer systems and skilled clinicians are needed to truly change the way care is delivered and achieve quality outcomes."

The program achieved the following results:

• Patients have an 88 percent reduced risk of dying of a cardiac-related cause when enrolled within 90 days of a heart attack, compared to those not in the program;
• The number of patients meeting their cholesterol goal went from 26 percent to 73 percent; and
• The number of patients screened for cholesterol went from 55 percent to 97 percent.

Research indicates that fewer than 20 percent of coronary artery disease patients are expected to survive 10 years after their first heart attack. The coordinated, evidence-based care, enabled by KP HealthConnect and an electronic care registry, increased that survival rate dramatically, according to Kaiser executives. It is estimated that more than 135 deaths and 260 costly emergency interventions were prevented annually, as a result of improved care.