Grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The Texas Heart Disease and Stroke Program (HDSP) was awarded two cooperative agreements, or grants, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2018. Through these awards, CDC provides guidance to state health departments to implement evidence-based strategies that help control high blood pressure and manage high cholesterol in health care and community settings.

In collaboration with the DSHS Diabetes Prevention and Control Program, the strategies for CDC-RFA-DP18-1815, Improving the Health of Americans through the Prevention and Management of Diabetes and Heart Disease and Stroke, include to:

Promote the use of electronic health records in clinics to find and treat patients who have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or both and to improve outcomes.
Increase the use of non-physician team members, such as pharmacists, nurses, medical assistants and community health workers to help patients lower their high blood pressure and high cholesterol, or both.
Promote medication therapy management (MTM) between pharmacists and primary care providers to help patients manage their high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or both. MTM includes reviewing medications, educating, and reminding patients to take medications as the primary care provider prescribed; monitoring the patients’ high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or both; and adjusting medications if needed.
Support health systems and communities to educate patients with high blood pressure, how to monitor their blood pressure at home through self-measured blood pressure monitoring.
Support health systems to refer patients diagnosed with high blood pressure to community resources and evidence-based programs to lower blood pressure.

For CDC-RFA-DP18-1817, Innovative State and Local Public Health Strategies to Prevent and Manage Diabetes and Heart Disease and Stroke, the strategies include:

Find and treat more patients with undiagnosed high blood pressure using electronic health records and health information technology.
Track and monitor data shown to improve health care quality. This data helps identify patients with high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol.
Carry out team-based care for patients with high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol. This includes testing different ways to reach out to the care team including nurses, medical assistants, community health workers and pharmacists for high blood pressure and cholesterol management.
Promote the use of MTM between community pharmacists and primary care providers to manage high blood pressure and high cholesterol and promote lifestyle changes.
Increase the use of community health workers and patient navigators to help patients manage high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Increase patient referrals from clinics to community resources to help lower high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Examples include educational classes on how to take blood pressure readings from home, eating a healthy diet, and increasing physical activity.
Also, increase patient referrals from the community to clinics to have providers see the patients and work together to help manage high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Expand the use of telehealth, including mobile health technology, to help patients manage high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

HDSP staff provide guidance and technical assistance to the following organizations and partners in implementing the above strategies in DSHS Public Health Regions 4-8 (https://www.dshs.texas.gov/regions/state.shtm).

Northeast Texas Public Health District
University of Texas at Austin, College of Pharmacy
University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
University of Texas Health Science Center at Tyler
DSHS Office of Border Public Health, Public Health Region 8

Projects

Texas Hypertension Control Movement

Since 2018, the HDSP has partnered with the American Heart Association (AHA) to improve blood pressure control for a healthier Texas. The purpose of this collaboration is to bring together clinics and community-based organizations, along with academic institutions, to achieve hypertension control across Texas. This is done by using Target:BP™ and CDC strategies.

GOAL: Achieve >70 percent hypertension control across Texas by 2024.

Regional Hypertension Collaboratives

To help achieve hypertension control across Texas, staff from the HDSP and AHA support the Regional Hypertension Collaboratives in Texas. At the regional and local levels, leaders from health care and community settings come together to:

Learn and help achieve hypertension control through Target:BP™ and the M.A.P. framework (M=Measure accurately, A=Act rapidly and P=Partner with patients)
Connect with local partners
Share resources to assist patients control their high blood pressure

Texas Hypertension Control Summit

Each year, staff from the HDSP collaborates with the AHA, American Medical Association, and the Chair from the Texas Cardiovascular and Stroke Partnership to plan and host the Texas Hypertension Control Summit. The Summit brings together national experts and Texas leaders to share the latest evidence-based strategies to help improve hypertension in clinical and community settings across Texas.

Medication Therapy Management

The National Association of Chronic Disease Directors, CDC, and HDSP staff work with organizations to carry out team-based care interventions. These interventions focus on making sure patients take their medication correctly. This is part of the MTM protocols for community pharmacists. Organizations include the University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy; Brookshire Food and Pharmacy in Tyler, Texas; and Tarrytown Pharmacy in Austin, Texas.