Cardiovascular Disease Preventive Services Among Smaller Primary Care Practices

Area of Science:

• Primary Care Research
• Cardiovascular Disease Prevention
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Cardiovascular disease preventive services, including aspirin use, blood pressure control, and smoking-cessation support, are vital for disease management.
• The Million Hearts initiative sets targets for improving these critical preventive services.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess practice-level performance in delivering cardiovascular disease preventive services.
• To determine the percentage of practices meeting Million Hearts targets.
• To identify practice characteristics associated with higher performance in these services.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study analyzed data from 1,248 primary care practices participating in the EvidenceNOW Initiative (2015-2016).
• Linear regression modeling was used to examine associations between practice characteristics and performance on aspirin use, blood pressure control, and smoking-cessation support.

Main Results:

• Average performance was 64% for aspirin use, 63% for blood pressure control, and 62% for smoking-cessation support.
• Only 52% of practices met the Million Hearts target for aspirin use, 32% for blood pressure control, and 54% for smoking cessation.
• Hospital/health system-owned practices and urban practices demonstrated better performance, while practices experiencing disruptions showed lower aspirin use performance.

Conclusions:

• Collecting and reporting practice-level performance data can drive improvements in cardiovascular disease prevention.
• Identifying practice characteristics associated with performance can help target interventions and support to achieve Million Hearts goals.