Description
- Abstract:
- Introduction: Statins play a crucial role in managing lipid levels and mitigating cardiovascular risks. Ensuring adherence to clinical guidelines for statin administration is imperative for federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) to deliver effective preventative therapies and maintain funding. Sole administration of statins is often not enough to sufficiently mitigate atherosclerotic risk in patients. High-intensity statin therapies are required to appropriately reduce that risk. This quality improvement (QI) study investigates whether clinician knowledge influences the under-administration of statins at the Comprehensive Community Action Program (CCAP), an FQHC in Rhode Island. Methods: Through a Google survey, clinician understanding of statin administration guidelines was quantitatively assessed using patient scenarios taken from the Patient and Provider Assessment of Lipid Management (PALM) registry. The survey evaluates 9 of the 13 CCAP providers' decisions on statin administration and their ability to identify high-intensity statin indications and appropriate dosages. Answers were anonymously received an aggregated. Analysis of the data was done via simple statistical analysis in Excel. Results: The summed response accuracy of the 9 CCAP providers was 88.9% in identifying patient need for statin therapy and was 75% for identifying patients requiring high intensity statin therapy. The CCAP providers were able to accurately identify the minimum high-intensity dosage of atorvastatin and rosuvastatin 66.7% and 55.5% of the time, respectively. Conclusion: Providers at CCAP showed proficiency in identification of patients requiring statins yet were less proficient in recognizing candidates for high-intensity statin therapy. Underutilization of statins at CCAP may be exacerbated by lack of education on appropriate dosages for high-intensity statins. Current literature implicates the media attention on the adverse effects of statins as the cause for provider hesitancy in administering high-intensity statins. This study underscores the necessity for enhanced provider education and use of the ASCVD Risk Calculator Plus is recommended for all providers moving forwards.
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Citation
Barbesino, Nicola, Lutzel, Nicholas, and Zink, Therese,
"Assessing Provider Knowledge and Guideline Adherence in Statin Therapy: A Quality Improvement Study in a Federally Qualified Health Center"
(2024).
Gateways to Medicine, Health Care, and Research.
Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library.
https://doi.org/10.26300/axrn-rp10
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Gateways to Medicine, Health Care, and Research
The Gateways Program at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University provides academically promising, motivated students new pathways to careers in the health sciences. This collection houses scholarly works produced by Master of Science in Medical Sciences (ScM) students …...