Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

© 2015 American Heart Association, Inc. Background: Despite effective treatments to reduce cardiovascular disease risk, their translation into practice is limited. Methods and Results: Using a parallel arm cluster-randomized controlled trial in 60 Australian primary healthcare centers, we tested whether a multifaceted quality improvement intervention comprising computerized decision support, audit/feedback tools, and staff training improved (1) guideline-indicated risk factor measurements and (2) guideline-indicated medications for those at high cardiovascular disease risk. Centers had to use a compatible software system, and eligible patients were regular attendees (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged >35 years and others aged ≥45 years). Patient-level analyses were conducted using generalized estimating equations to account for clustering. Median follow-up for 38 725 patients (mean age, 61.0 years; 42% men) was 17.5 months. Mean monthly staff support was <1 hour/site. For the coprimary outcomes, the intervention was associated with improved overall risk factor measurements (62.8% versus 53.4% risk ratio; 1.25; 95% confidence interval, 1.04-1.50; P=0.02), but there was no significant differences in recommended prescriptions for the high-risk cohort (n=10308; 56.8% versus 51.2%; P=0.12). There were significant treatment escalations (new prescriptions or increased numbers of medicines) for antiplatelet (17.9% versus 2.7%; P<0.001), lipid-lowering (19.2% versus 4.8%; P<0.001), and blood pressure-lowering medications (23.3% versus 12.1%; P=0.02). Conclusions: In Australian primary healthcare settings, a computer-guided quality improvement intervention, requiring minimal support, improved cardiovascular disease risk measurement but did not increase prescription rates in the highrisk group. Computerized quality improvement tools offer an important, albeit partial, solution to improving primary healthcare system capacity for cardiovascular disease risk management. Clinical Trial Registration: URL: https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=336630. Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry No. 12611000478910.

Original publication

DOI

10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.114.001235

Type

Journal article

Journal

Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes

Publication Date

01/01/2015

Volume

8

Pages

87 - 95