Cholesterol treatment and changes in guidelines in an academic medical practice

National guidelines are intended to influence physician cholesterol treatment practices, yet few studies have documented the effect of new guidelines on actual prescribing behaviors and impacts on patient eligibility for treatment. We describe current cholesterol treatment in an academic practice of Family and Internal Medicine physicians as well the effect of a change in cholesterol treatment guidelines from 2001 Adult Treatment Panel III (ATPIII) to 2013 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) guidelines. Medical records were extracted from primary care patients aged 40-75 years with at least one outpatient visit from January 1, 2012 to July 31, 2013; patients were included if they had records of cholesterol testing, blood pressure measurement, sex, race, and smoking status. Patients were classified into ATPIII and ACC/AHA categories based on clinical variables (eg, diabetes, hypertension, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease), Framingham Risk Score, and 10-year atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk. There were 4536 patients included in the analysis. Of these, 71% met ATPIII goals and 56% met ACC/AHA guidelines, a 15% decrease. Forty-three percent of high-risk patients met their low-density...Continue Reading