American Heart Month, celebrated each February, honors health professionals, researchers and heart health ambassadors whose dedication to fighting heart disease enables countless Americans to live full and active lives. atom Alliance is sharing blood pressure control best practices from providers across the U.S.

As one of 14 Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organizations (QIN-QIOs), atom Alliance brings Medicare providers together in initiatives that make communities healthier and improve clinical quality. We assist home health agencies, physician offices, clinics and other healthcare facilities to:

• Spread the use of evidence-based practices to promote the use of the Cardiac ABCS—Aspirin therapy when appropriate; Blood pressure (BP) control; Cholesterol management; and Smoking assessment and cessation.
• Identify racial and ethnic minority Medicare beneficiaries and dual-eligible Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries to improve their use of the ABCS.

Click here for local technical assistance with standardized, evidence-based protocols for use in your practice. When embedded in electronic health records, treatment protocols can serve as clinical decision support at the point of care so no opportunities are missed to achieve control.

In an effort to spread best practices and lessons learned, we are sharing these three stories:

		Champions of the Heart: Illinois Clinic Implements Blood Pressure Improvement Program
		Blood Pressure Workshops Result in Increase in Competency
		Cardiac Patient Story: My Journey to Good Health