This American Heart Month, HQI is proud to spotlight its partnership with the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services (DHSS) to expand access to Self-Measured Blood Pressure (SMBP) training and resources statewide. The initiative focuses on priority populations, including high utilizers, racial and ethnic minority groups, and rural residents, to reduce barriers to effective hypertension management.

Through this collaboration, clinics and care teams receive support to boost patient engagement, improve blood pressure control and strengthen self-management skills using SMBP toolkits and workflows.

The partnership also enhances coordination between clinic community health workers and community organizations to help patients address social determinants of health, such as transportation, food access and housing needs.

By advancing evidence-based practices, clinical decision support and team-based care, HQI and DHSS are working to improve cardiovascular disease outcomes through hypertension control while helping reduce the long-term costs of chronic disease.