Cardiologists and heart care leaders from across the U.S. shared their expertise and spoke about the future during the Becker's Cardiology Virtual Forum.
The Sept. 14 event featured experts discussing the small changes that are making big differences in their programs, how they are addressing disparities in care and what cardiology will look like three years from now. Click here to view the sessions on demand.
Here are four key takeaways from the event:
1. COVID-19 accelerated the adoption of digital technology and telehealth in cardiology, which will continue for the next three years. If digital health is continually embraced and implanted and wearable sensors are more widely adopted, heart care teams will have more opportunities for "closed loop" management strategies with patients, in which patients can better identify, track and understand the variables and lifestyle factors they react to. This will mark a shift from a physician- or clinician-centric management to a partnership between patients, their clinicians and care team.
2. Income inequality often affects access to healthcare. The disparity can be hyper-local, changing from ZIP code to ZIP code. Access to healthcare can be denied or hindered due to the extreme economic inequality in the U.S.
3. To help address disparities in heart care outcomes, health systems can set up a patient and family council representative of the communities the organization serves. Standardize the messaging around cardiovascular risks and outcomes and communicate them effectively.
4. For cardiology programs, the most important opportunity to improve care does not focus on new treatments or cutting-edge technology, but rather establishing routine systems of care. There are substantial opportunities for more systematic applications of proven treatments. Doing so will require a high level of collaboration and data-sharing from stakeholders across the care continuum.