Look at the map. It shows the number of women who die of a heart attack by county. Minnesota stands out. The entire state has a lower heart attack rate for women than most other areas of the country and there is a good reason for this. Minnesota has a statewide program that measures optimal medical therapy (OMT) achievement for diabetes and arterial disease for almost 500 practices. It ranks the practices by how well they do. It provides tools to alert people to the importance of OMT and to assist them in achieving it. There are posters to alert people in your organization to the importance of OMT in diabetes and vascular disease. There are worksheets to help patients track and achieve these goals. The Minnesota state health department puts a priority on OMT as well. A focus on OMT matters at a statewide level. It improves health and reduces costs. That frees revenue for other needs in these difficult times. Your state or community can do what Minnesota is doing. The Minnesota story is powerful validation for the OMT concept.
We have extensively discussed the large body of scientific evidence that supports OMT in this content. The American College of Cardiology has made OMT first—before heart artery stents and bypasses—the new universal standard of care for patients with stable heart artery disease. Taken together, these facts make a compelling case for OMT adoption to improve health and reduce healthcare costs. We have the systems, protocols, and information technology resources to make a move to OMT much easier for you. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel.
Wow. That map is sobering. I’m in Illinois. Doesn’t look great there.
Bill: This is a fascinating map and graphic display. First, I wonder about reporting accuracy in some of the states, particularly those like Florida with politically controlled public health departments. Minnesota’s data are certainly of high quality, a feature of the program you describe. The correlation here with “red” states politically, those controlled by Republican legislatures, is interesting, too. Best regards, David