Story Health by Innovaccer, a digital care platform evaluated in the VITAL-HF trial, demonstrates safe and significant improvements in heart failure therapy optimization.
Innovaccer Inc., a leading healthcare AI company, today announced results from the VITAL-HF (Virtual Care to Improve Heart Failure Outcomes) randomized controlled trial, presented today at the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA) Annual Scientific Meeting. The study showed that using Story Health by Innovaccer, a remote, digital care platform, clinicians were able to significantly improve the use of guideline-directed medical therapy for patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) compared with usual care.
Conducted across seven U.S. health systems including Duke University Health System, Cleveland Clinic, and Ascension St. Vincent, VITAL-HF enrolled 178 adults with HFrEF who were not yet optimized on medical therapy. Participants were randomized to either standard care or a digital intervention supported by Story Health’s platform and health coaches. Both groups received cellular-enabled blood pressure cuffs and scales. In addition, intervention participants received remote management and titration of their heart failure medications through a personalized digital care plan, at-home monitoring, and care guidance from their clinicians and health coaches.
At six months, patients in the digital intervention group achieved greater improvements in guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT), as measured by the Heart Failure Collaboratory medical therapy score (mean increase of 2.0 points) compared to those receiving usual care (mean increase of 1.4 points). The least squares mean difference of 0.78 was statistically significant (95% CI, 0.21–1.34; p=0.007). Importantly, safety outcomes were similar across groups, with low rates of hospitalizations and adverse events.
“These findings demonstrate that digital, asynchronous care models can safely improve medical therapy for patients with heart failure above and beyond traditional clinic-based care. These new models are scalable and have the potential to reach patients with limited access to care,” said Adam D. DeVore, MD, MHS, Associate Professor of Medicine in cardiology at Duke University School of Medicine and principal investigator of the study.
While some prior digital interventions in heart failure have only resulted in improvement in one or two drugs, the VITAL-HF intervention led to higher rates of patients achieving target doses across all four foundational drug classes for HFrEF—beta-blockers, angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitors (ARNIs), mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRAs), and sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i). At six months, 44% of intervention patients were receiving all four therapies versus markedly fewer at baseline.
“Improving medical therapy for heart failure is one of the most powerful levers we have to reduce hospitalizations and save lives. VITAL-HF shows that digital platforms with health coaching support can make this scalable at a time when many health systems and clinics are facing staffing shortages, long wait times, and patients with significant barriers in accessing care,” said Ashul Govil, MD, MBA, Cardiologist and Medical Director at Story Health by Innovaccer.
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