Our Blueprint for Constructing a Holistic Approach to Cardio-renal-metabolic Care

Six years ago, Boehringer Ingelheim and Lilly embarked on an ambitious venture to explore and advance knowledge around the critical link between the body’s cardiovascular, renal and metabolic systems. Our efforts were and continue to be motivated by the more than one billion people worldwide who are affected by cardio-renal-metabolic conditions, and our ultimate goal is to improve outcomes for people with these conditions.

Just as the construction of a solid home requires a sound foundation to support it, optimal treatment of people with these interconnected chronic diseases requires proper care for the heart, kidneys and pancreas, including collaboration among the various members of the healthcare community. At Boehringer Ingelheim and Lilly, we are creating a blueprint for this holistic approach to cardio-renal-metabolic care.

Sustainable Framework Is Needed to Implement Holistic Care in Clinical Practice

A recent survey of 1,000 U.S. healthcare professionals revealed a need for greater collaboration to improve patient outcomes in diabetes care. Approximately 9 in 10 specialists agreed that people with type 2 diabetes whose healthcare professionals collaborate tend to have better outcomes than those whose providers do not. Yet, these healthcare providers regularly face challenges to implementing holistic approaches in their practices, such as breakdowns in communication between specialists and time constraints during office visits.

These findings reinforce the need for a framework consisting of tools to help facilitate collaboration, such as connected records systems and easy to access, digestible professional guidelines, across cardio-renal-metabolic diseases. 

A Solid Foundation Starts with the Healthcare Provider

Establishing this holistic care framework begins with healthcare providers. That’s why we are taking actions in partnership with advocacy and professional organizations to help build a strong foundation rooted in education, including:

• Conducting clinical trial and real-world study outcomes to grow our understanding of how therapies work on these interconnected systems to inform treatment guideline updates across relevant disease areas and empower specialists to treat the whole body, not just the heart, kidneys, or endocrine system
• Identifying barriers to taking a multidisciplinary approach and offering resources for healthcare providers to help foster even more effective collaboration through programs like Unleashing the Truth, which aims to increase awareness of the role of specialists in the treatment of diabetes and related chronic conditions and promote multidisciplinary collaboration
• Establishing innovative health systems partnerships to encourage communication and a vested interest in integrated care for people living with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease

These actions will help identify clear roles for healthcare providers and create a well-grounded base to support sustainable improvements in treatment across cardio-renal-metabolic conditions.

Patient Access to Care Is Essential

Holistic care models can only improve patient outcomes if they have affordable access. Our Alliance is pursuing multiple avenues to ensure access and affordability for patients.

Through outcomes-based agreements with payers and patient assistance programs, we’re proactively developing solutions that provide access to treatments that improve outcomes and reduce the total cost of care for chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease.

We are also empowering people to take charge of their health and work with their doctor to construct a care plan that works for them by educating on the interconnectivity of cardio-renal-metabolic conditions through partnerships with professional and patient advocacy organizations. Through Know Diabetes by Heart, a collaborative American Heart Association and American Diabetes Association initiative we proudly joined as co-founding sponsors, we’ve been able to raise awareness about the link between diabetes and heart disease and provide patients with resources to better manage their conditions and the tools to gain entry to the oftentimes complex health care system.

Many Parts, One Blueprint

As industry leaders, we take seriously our responsibility to advance the knowledge of these interconnected systems and to support the creation of care that offers integrated, multi-organ benefits. Rooted in research and supported by educational and access initiatives, our long-lasting blueprint addresses barriers and offers solutions to advance holistic cardio-renal-metabolic care.

We encourage healthcare providers and people living with these conditions to prioritize their cardio-renal-metabolic health and to take a holistic approach as they continue to treat people living with C-R-M conditions. Stay tuned for more information and additional articles in this series that will take a deeper dive into these concepts and the roles of specific specialists.

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