Charting the Path Forward
Over the past year, the Michigan Cardiac Rehab Network (MiCR) Coordinating Center has worked to shape a shared vision for the next phase of our work. What began with a brainstorming session in December 2024 grew into a series of planning meetings through winter and spring 2025, culminating in a thoughtful review with our newly formed Advisory Council in late summer. This collaborative process affirmed MiCR’s evolving mission to move beyond simply increasing cardiac rehabilitation (CR) utilization and toward supporting widespread CR program quality and access.
MiCR’s Strategy for 2025–2027
MiCR’s 2025–2027 strategic plan provides a clear operational foundation and introduces two major strategic initiatives: supporting the implementation of telehealth CR and improving medication management within CR. Together, these components position MiCR to expand access, enhance quality, and ensure delivery of evidence-based care across Michigan.
Operational Priorities
MiCR’s operational initiatives remain central to our statewide improvement efforts:
- Data and Benchmarking
Delivering registry reports, unblinded data presentations, data consultations, and statewide value metrics that help programs understand performance and drive improvements in CR utilization. - Collaboration and Networking
Convening stakeholders, developing patient and provider resources, and advancing legislative advocacy to strengthen connections and expand access to CR services. - Impact and Engagement
Leveraging the MiCR Advisory Council, sharing best practices through publications and presentations, forming new partnerships, and evaluating ongoing programs to ensure MiCR’s work is effective, equitable, and sustainable.
Strategic Initiative 1: Supporting Telehealth CR Implementation
Telehealth CR offers a promising pathway to reduce long-standing barriers, such as transportation challenges, distance, work and family responsibilities, and mobility limitations, that can prevent patients from consistently attending in-person sessions. While traditional center-based CR remains the standard of care, telehealth has the potential to expand reach, improve equity, and support adherence for patients who might otherwise be unable to access this life-saving intervention.
Programs across Michigan vary widely in their current use of telehealth, their future plans for development, and their available infrastructure. To help programs navigate these differences and build capacity, MiCR has launched a telehealth implementation initiative with three aims:
- Understand the current state and future plans for telehealth CR through surveys, interviews, and informal outreach.
- Assess the value and use of existing telehealth resources available to CR programs.
- Develop a practical implementation guide to support programs in launching or strengthening telehealth CR models that enhance patient participation.
Strategic Initiative 2: Improving Medication Management in CR
Low adherence to prescribed medications is a persistent challenge among patients with cardiovascular disease and is associated with increased hospitalizations, higher costs, and higher mortality. Because CR programs routinely engage patients in education, coaching, and medication review, they are ideal settings for interventions aimed at improving medication management.
MiCR’s medication management strategic initiative focuses on:
- Using claims data to understand variability in medication refill patterns among CR-eligible patients in Michigan.
- Identifying gaps and opportunities within CR programs through interviews, surveys, and stakeholder outreach.
- Developing an actionable plan to support the implementation of medication management-improvement strategies across the state.
The MiCR team views our medication management initiative as a first step towards measuring quality of care in CR delivery more broadly and supporting sites in improving care delivery.
Looking Ahead
The 2025–2027 strategic plan maintains MiCR’s original focus on data benchmarking, developing and sharing best practices, supporting peer-to-peer learning, and additionally positions itself to deepen its impact through two new strategic initiatives. The success of the telehealth CR and medication management strategic initiatives will depend on continued collaboration with programs statewide, and MiCR looks forward to partnering closely as we begin implementing this next phase of work.
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