Primary Care Partnerships to Prevent Heart Disease in Women

Christiana Care Health System: HeartTruthDelaware.org: Web site Success

Challenges:

Provider Challenge: Busy primary care providers need a variety of resources at their fingertips to assist them in the prevention, identification, and management of cardiovascular disease. It is difficult to find a single resource that includes up-to-date, evidenced-based guidelines, as well as practical clinical tools. Local, community-based resources to address lifestyle interventions such as nutrition and physical activity are limited. Primary care providers also lack access to high quality, evidenced-based materials addressing cardiovascular disease prevention.

System Challenge: Delaware needs a coordinated, comprehensive effort to disseminate evidenced based guidelines. In addition, a vehicle is needed to improve communication among clinical providers, community based programs, state agencies, and local organizations to improve cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention and treatment within the State.

Strategies:

Centralized Information:

• Used a one-stop-shopping strategy to address the needs of busy providers
  
  
• Developed a Web site that is easy to navigate and includes clear, current, evidence-based guidelines, provider tools, organized referral resources and high quality patient education materials
  
  
• Posted a schedule of professional education events and trainings, videos, and online CME presentations to the Web site
  
  

Unbranded for Unity:

• As the lead on The Heart Truth Delaware, Christiana Care Health System did not use the institution's branding on the Web site
  
  
• Developed a Web site that features information from the NHLBI and the OWH and includes links to The Heart Truth Delaware program partners to unify efforts toward shared goals
  
  
• The decision to create an unbranded Web site proved to be an effective strategy to fully engage community partners and provided a neutral space
  
  
• The Web site continues to serve as a valuable tool to unify The Heart Truth Delaware program partners.
  
  

Website Features:

• Statistics for Delaware CVD mortality and risk factors are reported on the State Data Page
  
  
• Evidence-based guidelines for the prevention, management, and assessment of CVD and risk factors are easily accessed on the Clinical Tools Page
  
  
• Downloadable patient education materials from the NHLBI's The Heart Truth^® are on the Patient Education Page. Also includes other materials suggested by local PCPs and links to reputable consumer Web sites
  
  
• Announcements, updated program information, and health news items are found on the Home Page
  
  
• Professional education events and training opportunities are listed on the Events Page
  
  
• Direct links to free CME videos on the e-CME Page allows providers to access professional education at their convenience
  
  
• Updated, detailed listings of clinical and community services resources available to women are indexed by county on the Online Resource Guide
  
  

Activities/tactics:

In March 2009, the Web site was launched, welcoming providers from institutions across the state. The following promotional tactics were used:

• Created links to several clinical provider portals, blogs, community partners, professional education Web sites, as well as www.HeartTruthOhio.org and www.HeartTruthNewYork.org
  
  
• Established direct links to the physician and nursing portals of the largest medical institution in Delaware which resulted in the greatest increase in site traffic (August 2009)
  
  
• Directed Web site traffic through the use of "tags" such as "cardiovascular disease women," "AHA guidelines," etc
  
  
• Provided on-site, individual instruction to primary care providers and residents on The Heart Truth tools through Web site tours. This activity, called "academic office detailing", provides a similar service to that of a pharmaceutical representative
  
  
• Provided Web site tours to providers at exhibit table at clinical education meetings, conferences, and at the conclusion of The Heart Truth professional education presentations
  
  
• E-mailed Web site updates to Web site registrants, steering committee members, and other program partners
  
  

Results:

The launch and announcement of the Web site/portal provided access to clinical and educational tools and materials among PCPs. The announcement and PCP office detailing also increased Web site traffic.

The primary outcome of our tactics is wider distribution of guidelines and The Heart Truth materials. This was shown by greater traffic to the updated guidelines and tools, patient education materials and community resource guide.

Web site traffic:

• Physicians and nurses link to our Web site directly through their provider portals on a daily basis
  
  
• Starting at 100 hits per month, now averaging 1,500 hits monthly
  
  
• 2,700 hits to the Home Page
  
  
• 750 hits to the Clinical Tools Page
  
  
• 620 hits to the Patient Education Page
  
  
• 600 hits to the New Castle County Resources Page
  
  
• 430 hits to the e-CME Page
  
  
• 430 hits to the Events Page
  
  
• 200 hits to the CVD Statistics in Delaware & United States Women
  
  
• 50 hits to www.MotivationalInterview.org
  
  
• 100 hits to Heart Truth Ohio Free Online CME
  
  
• 25 hits to the HHS Office on Women's Health Website
  
  
• 20 hits to the NHLBI Heart Truth Campaign Website
  
  

Conclusions:

Our interactive strategies were successful in addressing several primary care provider issues as evidenced by our increasing provider traffic on our Web site. While the website has met preliminary goals, further improvements may be made to meet other provider and system challenges. To address these issues, visitors could be asked to self-identify (by location, provider type, and patient population), and improved browsing may be achieved with condensed navigation controls. With increased support, hearttruthdelaware.org could deliver important quantitative insight on the effective online dissemination of evidenced based guidelines.

Last Updated: February 29, 2012