CONTACT:
Shannon Walsh(703) 838-0033 ext. 377[email protected]
Amy Takis (877-986-9472) ext. 113[email protected]
Newswise — ALEXANDRIA, VA – The American Medical Group Foundation (AMGF) announced the addition of HealthyWomen as its 13th national partner of its Measure Up/Pressure Down® campaign to improve high blood pressure (hypertension) prevention, detection, and control.
To further the campaign’s goals, the two organizations will collaborate on online content creation and promotion to educate women and their loved ones about what high blood pressure is, the risks it poses, and what people can do to prevent and manage it. The partnership will also include promotion of evidence-based care processes to aid medical providers in hypertension control improvement and quality efforts.
“We are pleased to welcome HealthyWomen to the Measure Up/Pressure Down® campaign, and look forward to our collaboration to further engage patients and providers in blood pressure control,” says Donald W. Fisher, Ph.D., CAE, President and Chief Executive Officer of AMGA. “Statistics show that individuals with high blood pressure – half of whom are women – are more likely to search for health information online regarding disease, treatments, and medications. Our partnership with HealthyWomen will help us effectively reach women online, where they already spend significant time.”
HealthyWomen provides award-winning health information through a wide array of online content and print publications. Its website, www.HealthyWomen.org®, which averages more than 2 million visitors a year, has been recognized by ForbesWoman as one of the “Top 100 Websites for Women” for the third year in a row and was named the top women’s health website by Dr. Mehmet Oz in O, The Oprah Magazine.
Gender is an uncontrollable risk factor for high blood pressure. Nationally, 32.7 percent of women have high blood pressure and tend to get it later in life. After age 65, more women than men get high blood pressure. The steps to control the disease are the same for all – lifestyle modifications and/or medication adherence.
“HealthyWomen has a long history of educating, informing, and empowering women to make smart health choices for themselves and their families. As we know, patients increasingly use websites and social channels to find and make decisions about health conditions, in conjunction with medical providers,” Beth Battaglino, RN, President and Chief Executive Officer of HealthyWomen. “This partnership with the Measure Up/Pressure Down® campaign will help us educate women about high blood pressure and motivate them to detect and manage the disease.”
Measure Up/Pressure Down® is a three-year national campaign to improve high blood pressure prevention, detection, and control, spearheaded by the American Medical Group Foundation (AMGF), the AMGA’s nonprofit education and research arm. Uncontrolled hypertension can lead to heart attacks, chronic heart failure, stroke, and other serious health issues. Measure Up/Pressure Down® is the first initiative of the Chronic Care Challenge, a long-term effort by AMGF to improve quality of care and patient outcomes for chronic conditions with the greatest impact.
As part of its efforts, Measure Up/Pressure Down® mobilizes medical groups and health systems to achieve the goal of having 80 percent of their patients with high blood pressure under control by 2016. The central mission of the campaign is to encourage medical groups and organized systems of care to adopt one or more evidence-based care processes that lead to measurable improvements in high blood pressure outcomes. Nearly 150 AMGA medical groups and health systems delivering care to more than 42 million patients have joined Measure Up/Pressure Down®.
The campaign also brings together national partners and sponsor organizations to work collectively to provide patients and communities information and tools that facilitate lifestyle changes, medication adherence, and other keys to successful blood pressure control. HealthyWomen joins other national partners and supporting organizations of the campaign, including the American Heart Association, American Kidney Fund, American Society of Hypertension, American Stroke Association, Association of Black Cardiologists, Institute for Health and Productivity Management, Institute for Healthcare Improvement, Men’s Health Network, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Million Hearts® initiative, Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association, Right Care, and WomenHeart. Campaign sponsors that are committed to helping resolve this public health challenge: Daiichi Sankyo, Inc., Withings, Baptist Medical Group, Aetna, Humedica, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Epic, and Ralphs. For more information about the campaign, visit www.MeasureUpPressureDown.com.
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About the Measure Up/Pressure Down® CampaignThe American Medical Group Foundation (AMGF), the nonprofit arm of the American Medical Group Association, launched Measure Up/Pressure Down®-a three-year national campaign to improve care and reduce the burden of high blood pressure on November 29, 2012. Measure Up/Pressure Down™ includes nearly 150 medical groups, health systems and national partners such as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Kaiser Permanente, and Geisinger Health System. The goal of the three-year campaign is to have 80 percent of high blood pressure patients in control of their condition by 2016. www.MeasureUpPressureDown.com
About HealthyWomenAs the nation's leading nonprofit women’s health information source, HealthyWomen is committed to making quality health information broadly available to both consumers and health care providers. For 25 years, HealthyWomen has provided free information and resources to help educate and empower women on health and wellness topics from A to Z. In focusing on the next 25 years, HealthyWomen remains committed to maintaining its status as the go-to online destination where women and health experts come together to share new ideas, wisdom and advice so women can make smart health choices for themselves and their families. www.HealthyWomen.org
About AMGFThe American Medical Group Foundation (AMGF) is the 501(c)(3) affiliate of the American Medical Group Association and it supports and disseminates research on better ways to deliver health care that is scientifically sound and value-based. AMGF also develops and supports educational programs to enable all stakeholders-providers, payers, policymakers and patients to translate the evidence of what works best into everyday practice. www.amga.org/foundation
About AMGAThe American Medical Group Association (AMGA) is a 501(c)(6) trade association representing medical groups, health systems, and other organized systems of care, including some of the nation's largest, most prestigious integrated delivery systems. AMGA is a leading voice in advocating for efficient, team-based, and accountable care. AMGA members encompass all models of organized systems of care in the healthcare industry, including: physician-owned, independent group practices, integrated delivery systems, hospital-affiliated medical groups, independent practice associations (IPAs), academic and faculty practices, accountable care organizations, and high-performing health systems. More than 130,000 physicians practice in AMGA member organizations, providing healthcare services for 120 million patients (approximately one in three Americans). Headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, AMGA is the strategic partner for these organizations, providing a comprehensive package of benefits, including political advocacy, educational and networking programs, publications, benchmarking data services, and financial and operations assistance. www.amga.org
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