Recora at ACC.23 - 5 Takeaways from the Conference

From March 4-6, the American College of Cardiology's Annual Meeting & Expo Together With WCC (ACC.23/WCC) was hosted in New Orleans. Recora was among the thousands of physicians and cardiovascular professionals who traveled to The Big Easy to discuss life-saving innovation. 

‍

The Recora team had the pleasure of speaking with countless providers, all of whom were interested in breaking down barriers to care and providing accessible rehab to their patients. Conversations like this reaffirm the value of virtual care and our mission here at Recora. 

‍

While educating providers and professionals on our flagship program, the Recora team took note of common questions and misconceptions about virtual cardiac rehab: 

‍

1. Offering a virtual program does not necessarily mean staffing a virtual program‍

Often, a provider or professional would commend us on our program, but lament that they didn’t have the staff to support it. Recora serves as an extension of our partners’ existing teams. The Recora Care Team delivers and documents care on our partners’ behalf. Our Patient Experience team engages and supports patients from enrollment to onboarding to graduation. Recora is a true partner in technology and clinical staffing, launching virtual cardiac rehab without requiring an increase in partner headcounts. 

‍

2. Home-based cardiac rehab is not the same as in-home cardiac rehab 

Recora patients participate in recovery sessions from the comfort and privacy of their homes. The Recora Care Team educates and exercises with patients via live audio/visual encounters. In-between recovery sessions, patients have access to a live chat with their Recora Care Team, as well as interactive tools to keep them engaged in their recovery.
‍

3. Patients don’t need a treadmill or a spin bike to participate in virtual cardiac rehab

Recora delivers virtual care that mirrors the clinical rigor of brick-and-mortar cardiac rehab – without the large, expensive cardio equipment. Patients first establish meaningful goals with their Recora Care Team, e.g. building the stamina to walk around the neighborhood with a loved one for 20 minutes. Together, patients & their Care Team monitor and measure progress toward goals and adjust exercise intensity accordingly. Our clinicians use a Recora Exercise Bank with Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced level exercises and add repetitions or sets based on Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE), HR, and BP. 

‍

The team also noticed a few exciting trends while at ACC.23:

4. There is tremendous interest in virtual cardiac rehab among international providers and professional societies 

The Recora team had the pleasure of speaking with Annual Meeting attendees from all over the world: Germany, the United Kingdom, Uzbekistan, Mexico, and more! There was significant interest from international providers in offering virtual cardiac rehab to their patients. While Recora partners with US-based health systems, medical groups, and health plans today, we were thrilled to see positive support and energy from providers worldwide. 

‍

5. Providers are excited by patients taking charge of their recovery

With Recora, patients are given the tools to restore not only their heart health, but also a feeling of control in their post-discharge life. Every day, Recora is driving long-lasting lifestyle changes for patients through exercise, diet, tobacco cessation, and stress management. Our clinical outcomes are a testament to these lifestyle changes. To name a couple:

• 85% of our patients exercise for 100 minutes or more per week  
• 94% of our patients adhere to their cardiac medications as prescribed by their cardiologists 

Providers were thrilled to hear that Recora’s Care Team, recovery tools, and teachings become a part of patients’ everyday lives. 

We’d like to extend our gratitude to the American College of Cardiology for having us at ACC.23 – see you next year!