Statin prescription rates and their facility-level variation in patients with peripheral artery disease and ischemic cerebrovascular disease: Insights from the Department of Veterans Affairs

Cameron L. McBride, Julia M. Akeroyd, David J. Ramsey, Vijay Nambi, Khurram Nasir, Erin D. Michos, Ruth L. Bush, Hani Jneid, Pamela B. Morris, Vera A. Bittner, Christie M. Ballantyne, Laura A. Petersen, Salim S. Virani

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

47 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The 2013 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association cholesterol guideline recommends moderate to high-intensity statin therapy in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) and ischemic cerebrovascular disease (ICVD). We examined frequency and facility-level variation in any statin prescription and in guideline-concordant statin prescriptions in patients with PAD and ICVD receiving primary care in 130 facilities across the Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system between October 2013 and September 2014. Guideline-concordant statin intensity was defined as the prescription of high-intensity statins in patients with PAD or ICVD ≤75 years and at least moderate-intensity statins in those >75 years. We calculated median rate ratios (MRR) after adjusting for patient demographic factors to assess the magnitude of facility-level variation in statin prescribing patterns independent of patient characteristics. Among 194,151 PAD patients, 153,438 patients (79.0%) were prescribed any statin and 79,435 (40.9%) were prescribed a guideline-concordant intensity of statin. PAD patients without ischemic heart disease were prescribed any statin and a guideline-concordant intensity of statin therapy less frequently (69.1% and 28.9%, respectively). Among 339,771 ICVD patients, 265,491 (78.1%) were prescribed any statin and 136,430 (40.2%) were prescribed a guideline-concordant intensity of statin. ICVD patients without ischemic heart disease were prescribed any statin and a guideline-concordant intensity of statin less frequently (70.9% and 30.5%, respectively). MRRs for both PAD and ICVD patients demonstrated a 20% and 28% variation among two facilities in treating two identical patients with statin therapy and guideline-concordant intensity of statin therapy, respectively. The prescription of statins, especially guideline-recommended intensity of statin therapy, is suboptimal in PAD and ICVD patients, with significant facility-level variation not explained by patient-level factors.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)232-240
Number of pages9
JournalVascular Medicine
Volume23
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jun 2018
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • cerebrovascular disease
  • disease prevention
  • lipids
  • other pharmacotherapy
  • peripheral artery disease (PAD)
  • population health
  • practice guidelines
  • quality improvement
  • statins

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