MedsEngine - Sometimes You Don’t Need AI

You know sometimes AI isn’t necessary to put together a system that truly makes a difference.  Recently I have been working with MedsEngine and their system to control hypertension, cholesterol, diabetes and CHF. These 4 conditions are huge drivers of healthcare costs and morbidity. Solving them will have long term impacts, as pointed out by Tom Frieden, MD in this LinkedIn post.

Why do we have such poor control rates for these conditions? Well, the combined guidelines, for just these 4 conditions, require over 160 variables that need to be known, found in the EHR, and then accurately utilized according to 855 pages of guidelines. Medication adherence can be problematic if physicians don’t have time to explain the problem, severity, or why a guideline-directed medication will control the patient’s condition. Putting these guidelines easily into the workflow of clinicians is imperative and does not require AI to solve the problem. Better yet is programming deterministic logic so every decision can be tracked back to the guidelines.

What are achievable results?  Well, MedsEngine has demonstrated a 92% BP control rate to the goal of <140/90 for 10 consecutive years.  Recognizing that the new standards are 130/80 MedsEngine has demonstrated the ability to improve BP to the new standard. The power comes from an EHR-integrated clinical decision support application that is utilized at the point of care to generate guideline-directed and evidence-based medication recommendations in <10 seconds. A technology that fits into the workflow and works this quickly provides time for meaningful patient conversations.

They also have an excellent report on their product produced by HITLAB, which you can access here.

Providing tools for clinicians that are easy to use, don’t negatively impact workflow, activate patients, and create better outcomes is really the key to success whether its AI or not.

Thanks to Doug Romer, MD, Chief Medical Officer, MedsEngine for reviewing my post, providing some data and editing.