The Importance of Digital Health Portfolios in Management of Chronic Conditions
At ORCHA, we emphasize the importance of assessing digital health technologies for their safety, efficacy and usability through rigorous frameworks, not only for the patient populations they serve, but also for the healthcare providers recommending these tools. An equally important part of this process involves identifying which digital health apps are the right fit for different patient populations and when is the right time to use them.
On Monday, October 28th 2024, The Peterson Health Technology Institute (PHTI) released its third health technology assessment report on Digital Hypertension Management Solutions. The report highlights the important role digital health solutions play in managing hypertension effectively using the approaches of Blood Pressure Monitoring, Medication Management, and Behaviour Change. The key takeaway of the assessment is that medication management solutions had the most evidence to support clinical benefits, such as a decrease in Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP), long-term savings and improved population health when compared to usual care. The purpose being to guide payers, healthcare organizations and providers on what digital health products have long term benefits and cost savings.
Digital medication management tools are an important component in implementing change in patients with chronic conditions such as hypertension. However, they are just one tool, of many, available to healthcare providers and patients. Chronic Care management should not be approached as one dimensional and requires a multi-layered care model to improve patient outcomes. Healthcare organizations such as Federally Qualified Healthcare Centers (FQHCs) and PCPs must consider socioeconomic factors and health equity when creating Plans of Care for their patients and aiming to improve their health. Not all patients have the same access to care or are at the same stage of their health journey. What about the patient that lives alone in an underserved community who does not have the means to drive 20+ miles to see their PCP regularly? Or the patient who has multiple chronic conditions and is struggling to understand the lifestyle changes they need to make to improve their health? Utilizing digital health apps that promote patient education, encourage behavior change and remotely monitor conditions are crucial foundations for building the patient-provider relationship, improving patient engagement and aid in the overall management of chronic conditions such as hypertension.
Working with healthcare systems to implement digital health strategies that address these differences in patient populations, patient acuity and patient access are crucial to the success of digital health adoption, improved outcomes and cost savings. In addition to Digital Health Formularies and App Libraries, creating toolkits for providers, such as a Digital Health Portfolio, ensures access to a range of safe and effective digital health products that can be chosen based on the individual patient and what they will best respond to. ORCHA Digital Care Pathways guide providers to select the appropriate digital health app for a condition at the right time – meeting the patient where they are in their healthcare journey.
Digital health tools, whether remote monitoring, medication management or behaviour change focused, are effective in managing and improving chronic conditions such as hypertension, if chosen correctly by the provider and used to augment usual care. Healthcare systems and providers must be educated and able to choose from a portfolio of safe and effective digital health apps to ensure they are meeting the needs and situation of all of their patients. Digital Health is not a one-size fits all and ORCHA’s mission is to bring the benefits of these quality apps to patients where and when they need it.
If you would like to find out more about Digital Health Portfolios and Digital Care Pathways and how they can be used to benefit patients click here