Telehealth visits have replaced a number of prenatal visits that used to occur in person due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For many patients, this has been a welcome change since many maternal care visits can now take place at home or work – in environments that better fit the lives of pregnant people. However, it’s crucial that patients are able to monitor certain health metrics at home, like blood pressure.
One in 12 pregnancies are impacted by preeclampsia, a pregnancy-related condition characterized by high blood pressure that can damage the liver and kidneys and possibly result in death. The Cuff Project by the Preeclampsia Foundation is an innovative project to help all pregnant and postpartum moms to monitor their blood pressure – by ensuring that women have access to blood pressure monitoring devices at home regardless of their income. The kit includes a blood pressure monitor, downloadable instructions, and a blood pressure tracking log.
The Preeclampsia Foundation provides the kits to providers to distribute to patients. In return, they request that providers collect a small amount of information from the patients who receive the kits. Specifically, they ask about:
- The patient’s willingness and ability to track blood pressure,
- How often they will share it with their providers, and
- Whether their providers can use it in the care and treatment of their patients.
Currently, blood pressure monitors are not universally reimbursed by private or public insurance, and yet this simple device can save lives. Watch this short Sparks Session to learn more about the Cuff Project.
About MHLIC Spark Sessions:
At September’s inaugural National Maternal Health Innovation Symposium, MHLIC shared over 20 Spark Session videos. These are a curated collection of brief presentations detailing innovative maternal health programs, policies, or strategies from around the nation. The goal was not only to share examples of creative work by others in maternal health but to “spark” ideas in viewers about how you might do something new or differently in your own work. Over the next several months, we will highlight some of the Spark Sessions on our blog.