Novocardia™ Launches Groundbreaking, Value-Based Heart Failure Management Program to Improve Patient Outcomes and Reduce Hospitalizations

The heart failure program is a new model for cardiology practices in managing heart failure, starting with patients in Northeast Florida

NEW YORK, May 17, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Novocardia, a value-based cardiovascular disease care platform, has launched an innovative heart failure program that combines individualized health coaching and remote patient monitoring to improve the lives of heart failure patients and decrease the need for hospitalizations.

Using a "telehealth first model," Novocardia's heart failure management program focuses on the early detection of decompensation, which allows for at-home interventions that may reduce the need for emergency department visits. The program is designed to enable cardiology or primary care practices, as well as Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and health plans, to improve patient outcomes while decreasing costs in both fee-for-service and value-based care payment models.

Introduced initially at First Coast Heart & Vascular Center in Northeast Florida, Novocardia's heart failure program equips practices with evidence-based protocols, best-in-class remote monitoring and telehealth technology, and smart data collection and analytics, enabling them to both implement the program efficiently and measure performance and outcomes.

"With our patient-centered, data-driven heart failure management program, Novocardia is delivering a solution to cardiology practices that enables them to optimize patient care while achieving the value that payers and risk-bearing partners increasingly expect," said Katherine Evans, DNP, FNP-C, GNP-BC, ACHPN, FAANP, Chief Nursing Officer & Senior Vice President of Clinical Services at Novocardia.

The heart failure model of care was developed by Evans and Novocardia Co-Founders Dr. Dan Blumenthal, CEO, and Dr. Julius Torelli, Chief Medical Officer, who together have decades of experience caring for heart failure patients.

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a chronic condition in which the heart muscle is unable to pump enough blood to keep up with the body's need for oxygen. CHF affects approximately 6.2 million U.S. adults.* Common symptoms of CHF include shortness of breath with activity or when lying flat, leg swelling, and fatigue. The condition typically worsens over time, putting patients at risk for organ failure and death.

Although there is no cure, research shows that diet and lifestyle changes, closely monitoring symptoms, and taking medications properly – potentially combined with surgical interventions and cardiac resynchronization therapy – can improve quality of life, prevent many hospital visits, and reduce the risk of death.**

Patients may be referred to Novocardia's heart failure program by their cardiologist, or at hospital discharge, a time when studies have shown that heart failure patients are at high risk of hospital readmission.*** During the approximately three-month program, enrolled patients receive regularly scheduled telehealth visits with a nurse practitioner, as well as patient education and health coaching visits, providing exceptional evidence-based care at the right time and at their convenience. Patients' vital signs, weight and other key indicators are monitored remotely so that the clinical team can respond quickly to alerts and prevent further exacerbations that could lead to hospitalization.

"Providing one-on-one health counseling with frequent touchpoints to support heart failure patients with the self-management of the disease is vital in achieving success in living with heart failure," Torelli said. "With this, they have less need for accessing acute care services, thereby reducing overall healthcare costs."

"We are delighted to expand our leading, patient-centered care to Northeast Florida residents with the new heart failure program," said Dr. Dinesh Pubbi, MD, FACC, FHRS, Director of Electrophysiology at First Coast Heart & Vascular Center. "By focusing on proactive and preventive care, the program will improve outcomes for more patients while reducing hospitalizations and the financial burdens on our healthcare system. We look forward to building strong practitioner-patient relationships that will lead to better health for patients with heart failure."  

By leveraging Novocardia's robust data collection and analytics capabilities, cardiology practices can gain insights into the clinical needs of their patient population and can measure performance to fine-tune their services and demonstrate value.

"Our data and analytics capabilities enable physicians to understand their patient population, identify opportunities for improvement, and demonstrate efficiency and effectiveness," Torelli said. 

ABOUT NOVOCARDIA™
Founded in 2020, Novocardia is on a mission to transform how cardiovascular care is delivered in the United States and help patients with heart and vascular disease live longer, healthier, and more satisfying lives. Novocardia is committed to putting cardiologists, and their patients, at the center of care by investing in our partner practices, deploying purpose-built data and analytics tools to improve patient outcomes, and enabling our partners to transition more successfully to value-based care. To learn more about Novocardia, please visit www.novocardiahealth.com.

ABOUT FIRST COAST HEART & VASCULAR CENTER
First Coast Heart & Vascular Center is a leading provider of high-quality cardiovascular disease care in Northeast Florida, offering a comprehensive array of services, including general, interventional and vascular cardiology, electrophysiology, heart failure, diagnostic imaging, and nuclear cardiology. To learn more about First Coast Heart & Vascular Center, please visit https://www.firstcoastheart.com.

*Source: American Heart Association, Circulation https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000757
**Source: British Medical Journal, Systematic review of multidisciplinary interventions in heart failure. https://heart.bmj.com/content/91/7/899
*****Source: American Heart Association, Circulation: Heart Failure, https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCHEARTFAILURE.121.008335

SOURCE Novocardia