Achieving Gold Status: Banmaha, PC’s Success in the Target: BP Program

Erica, a Practice Transformation Specialist with Quality Insights, interviews Natalie, a physician assistant at Banmaha, PC, in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, about their practice’s remarkable achievement—earning Gold Status in the Target: BP program, a critical initiative by the American Heart Association and the American Medical Association aimed at controlling and managing blood pressure more effectively across the nation.

Together, they explore the motivation behind joining the program, the strategic steps to enhance blood pressure management, and the challenges encountered. Natalie highlights the critical role of continuous patient education and adherence to treatment plans in achieving lasting results. She also shares how attaining Gold Status has strengthened organizational development and patient care.

For those interested in learning more about the Target: BP Program initiative and how to achieve recognition for your practice, please visit targetbp.org for information and resources. 

Transcript

 Hello listeners and welcome back to our Quality Insights podcast series where we dive into the heart of healthcare transformation and innovation. My name is Erica, and I am your host for today. I'm a practice transformation specialist with Quality Insights working in Pennsylvania with multiple practices and various specialties on the cardiovascular and diabetes management projects.

In this episode, we are turning the spotlight on a remarkable achievement in the realm of cardiovascular health management. Our topic of focus will be the Target BP program, a critical initiative by the American Heart Association, and the American Medical Association aimed at controlling and managing blood pressure more effectively across the nation.

Joining me today is Natalie, a physician assistant from Bon Maha pc, a primary care practice located in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Aha. PC has recently been honored with the gold achievement status in the Target BP program. This prestigious recognition is awarded to practices that submit data and report 70% blood pressure control among patients served with hypertension.

Welcome to the podcast, Natalie. It's exciting to have you with us to share your journey and success in achieving the gold status with the Target BP program. To start, would you mind sharing a brief overview of your practice and your mission regarding patient care? Hi, Erica. Yes. Thank you for having me today.

We are a small family owned practice with a dedicated team of three employees, Dr. Maharaj, Beki Maharaj, our practice manager, and me, Natalie, our physician assistant. Thank you for sharing such a wonderful introduction to your practice. It's clear that you and your team provide a deeply personal and caring environment for your patients.

The multi-generational care practice provides is truly a testament to the trust that you've built within your community over the past couple years. And we are so fortunate to have a practice like yours serving the community. It's evident that your commitment to patient care goes above and beyond. I was curious what motivated your practice to participate in the Target BP program, and what steps did you take to embark on this journey?

Our practice was motivated to participate in the program because we are committed to improving patient care, addressing public health concerns and enhancing the overall quality of healthcare delivery. Our team is interested in learning more about this program and understanding its focus, which aligned with our practice's focus, which is to improve blood pressure control.

As a practice. We assessed our hypertension management practices and identified areas for improvement and worked towards established goals to achieve recognition. Thank you for sharing your motivation behind participating in the program. It's truly so inspiring to see your practice's commitment to providing patient care and addressing crucial public health concerns like hypertension.

And it's also great to hear that the program focuses align with your practice's, goals, the engagement of both healthcare providers and patients. It's crucial for the success of any initiative. How did you encourage your team and your patients to actively participate in the Target BP program? Our team discussed the importance and impact of the Target BP program and how it can enhance the quality of care we provide and patient outcomes. We also discussed how the program fits into the broader goals of the practice because it aims to improve patient care and helps us achieve better quality measures while obtaining the recognition for our hard work.

Our team worked together to engage patients by providing education about the importance of managing their blood pressure. It's fantastic to hear how your team has embraced the target BP program and its potential to enhance both patient care and outcomes. It's clear that the program aligns with your goals to improve patient care, and the fact that your team is actively engaging patients and providing education about the importance in managing their blood pressure is a crucial step in empowering them to take control of their health.

What were some of the challenges that your practice faced while implementing these measures and how did you overcome them? A challenge our practice faced while implementing these measures is patient adherence to treatment plans, including medication regimens, lifestyle changes, and regular blood pressure monitoring.

The solution was to provide continuous patient education and increased follow up and support to them. It's great that you have identified a key challenge and also have found that solution to address it. Patient adherence can certainly be one of the most difficult aspects of hypertension management, but your approach of continuous education and increased follow-up is an excellent strategy to improve compliance.

And also just by maintaining that open line of communication and ensuring that your patients feel supported, you're also fostering building a stronger trusting relationship, which is great. What tools or resources provided by the target BP program were most beneficial to your practice? The most valuable resource provided by the Target BP program were the blood pressure loaner kids and the educational materials on home blood pressure monitoring that we could share with our patients.

These tools enabled us to encourage patients to take readings at home, giving us valuable insight into how their blood pressures managed outside of the office. When patients experience low or high readings, they could contact our office, allowing us to adjust medications as needed before their next follow-up visit and suggest lifestyle changes when appropriate.

It's wonderful to hear how valuable the resources from the target PP program have been for your practice. The blood pressure loaner kits and educational materials are such effective tools for empowering patients to take an active role in managing their health. The approach that your practice has. Has not only helped to ensure more accurate management, but also strengthens the partnership between your practice and your patients.

Your ability to intervene before the next office visit and suggest those necessary changes is such a great approach to improving patient outcomes. How was achieving the gold status in the target BP program affected your practice and your approach to patient care? Achieving the gold status has had an impact on our practice by increasing organizational development and patient care practices.

The recognition highlighted our hard work and commitment of our team. It increased our team's engagement by reinforcing the importance of improving hypertension management and outcomes. That is such an incredible accomplishment and a clear reflection on your team's dedication and hard work. The recognition not only highlights your commitment to improving hypertension management, but also serves as a powerful motivator for continued progress.

It's wonderful to hear how this achievement has enhanced both organizational development and patient care practice. Looking forward, what are your practice's goals for continuing to improve blood pressure management and overall cardiovascular health among your patients? Our primary goal remains to improve the percentage of patients with controlled blood pressure, with an emphasis on reaching and man and maintaining greater than 80% control for all hypertensive patients.

It is great to hear that your primary goal remains focused on improving blood pressure control, and even just striving for that greater than 80% for all hypertensive patients is an ambitious target. This level of commitment to improving patient care and outcomes will undoubtedly have such a lasting impact on the healthier community.

I'm so excited to watch your practice make significant progress on this goal. For other healthcare providers who are here listening today and looking to improve their own patient care, what advice would you offer? One piece of advice that we can offer to improve patient care is to provide educational resources and handouts on high blood pressure and dietary changes.

We have found the dash and Mediterranean diets have been particularly effective in helping our patients manage their blood pressure. Additionally, we make sure to schedule follow-up appointments for all of our patients with hypertension. In the meantime, if patients encounter any issues. In between their visits, we make ourselves readily available to discuss medication adjustments or arrange an earlier follow-up to ensure they stay on track with their health.

Thank you for sharing such a valuable piece of advice. Your practice has taken such important steps in empowering patients to take control of their health, and it's great to hear how the dietary suggestions have also been effective in managing blood pressure for your patients. Your approach is truly patient centered.

Thank you, Natalie, for taking the time to have this conversation with me today. For anyone interested in learning more about the Target BP Program initiative and how to achieve recognition for your practice, please visit www.target bp.org for information and resources. That concludes our episode for today.

I would like to give a big thank you to our guest, Natalie. For sharing their insights and experiences to our listeners, we hope this discussion inspires and informs you about some of the possibilities of enhancing cardiovascular healthcare. Please share this podcast with your colleagues and join us again next time for more engaging discussions on healthcare innovation.