ANDREA KLEMES, DO
MDVIP Chief Medical Officer
The measurable impact of MDVIP’s approach to reducing risk for cardiovascular disease is in the medical literature again. I am thrilled to announce our newest study (our 11th!) that appears online in the Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health. The chief finding of this research is that high-risk patients are less likely (11-12%) to suffer a heart attack or stroke in the MDVIP network as compared to non-members. Our expanding series of peer-reviewed papers published in respected journals have become a benchmark for patient outcomes in personalized, membership-based healthcare.
STUDY OVERVIEW
Investigators examined the occurrence of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) or stroke/transient ischemic attack (TIA) in at-risk Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in MDVIP versus non-MDVIP beneficiaries in the same geographic area between 2005 and 2014. At-risk patients were defined as 65 and older with at least two of three risk-related chronic conditions: hypertension, hyperlipidemia and diabetes. Linear probability modeling estimated the differential change in vascular events from pre- to post-enrollment among a sample of 15,409 MDVIP patients and found a statistically significant decrease in the rates of AMI (12%) and stroke (11%) relative to the comparison population of 1,012,349 non-MDVIP patients. Considering more than 1.5 million heart attacks and strokes occur every year in the U.S., a 12% reduction equates to 180,000 fewer of these life-threatening incidents.
NUMBERS WORTH SHARING
We hope you feel as gratified as we do about the impressive results you are achieving in the fight against the #1 cause of death in our country. And this news is too great to keep to yourself. Feel free to forward the study link above. Whether you’re talking with current or potentially new members, physician colleagues or local business leaders, here’s the story you can proudly tell that elevates the value of a close doctor-patient partnership:
MDVIP’s Annual Wellness Program testing, clinical curriculum, education, lifestyle tools and overall model structure have been validated in multiple published studies demonstrating their effectiveness in cardiovascular disease prevention. Our first study showed our testing identified 40% more patients at risk of a cardiac event in the next 6 months to 2 years as compared to traditional testing. Another study supported that when MDVIP-affiliated physicians identify members at higher risk, they have the time, tools and technology to work closely with patients to decrease inflammation levels and reduce that risk. An economic model published by a third party looked at MDVIP’ s clinical data and predicted about a 10% decrease in cardiovascular events. And most recently, a review of Medicare claims confirmed that MDVIP patients at high risk for a heart attack or stroke had 12% less cardiovascular events than traditional Medicare patients.
As we continue to prove the medical relevancy and actionability of our program, we take every opportunity to increase awareness of the MDVIP difference. We issued a national press release to engender media interest in this latest article with upcoming interviews in the works, and we’ll be amplifying our outcomes data as we engage with employers, insurers and our friends on Capitol Hill.