Using Practice Facilitation in Primary Care Settings to Reduce Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease

Using Practice Facilitation in Primary Care Settings to Reduce Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease

The primary purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of practice facilitation as a quality improvement strategy for implementing the Million Hearts' ABCS treatment guidelines for reducing cardiovascular disease (CVD) among high-risk patients who receive care in primary care practices in New York City. The ABCS refer to the following: Aspirin in high-risk individuals (A), Blood pressure control and management (B), Cholesterol management (C), and Smoking cessation (S). The long-term goal is to create a robust infrastructure to disseminate and implement evidence based practice guidelines (EBPG) findings in primary care practices and improve practices' capacity to receive and implement other EBPG findings in the future.

Inclusion Criteria:

Provider and staff eligibility inclusion criteria.

• Eligibility includes working full or part time at the study site.

Stakeholder eligibility inclusion criteria.

• Steering committee members or other key stakeholder from the following groups: Health Plan Chief Medical Officer, State health officials in the Chronic Disease Program, and leadership from relevant national associations (American Heart Association), members of Advisory Board of CHCANYS (these are physician leaders).

Patient eligibility inclusion criteria:

• at least one of the ABCS risk factors for CVD (i.e., hypertension, hyperlipidemia, eligible for aspirin and/or is a current smoker)
• must have received care at the clinic for at least 12 months
• Patients eligible for aspirin are those with a documented ICD-9 code for ischemic vascular disease in the last 12 months. Similarly, patients with a diagnosis of hypertension and/or hyperlipidemia will have a documented ICD-9 code for the targeted risk factor
• Smokers will be identified by a documented ICD-9 code, prescription for a cessation medication in the last 12 months or documentation in the chart (e.g. meaningful use measure) during the last 12 months (see outcome measures)