Feedback of Treatment Intensification Data to Reduce Cardiovascular Disease Risk (FIT)

Project Description: We propose a cluster randomized trial intervention involving eight or more medical facilities of Kaiser Permanente Northern California (KP) and more than 65,000 patients at high risk for CVD. At intervention facilities, patient-level information obtained from KP's electronic health record on the need for treatment intensification (for systolic blood pressure, LDL-c, and A1c) and on recent medication adherence are added to a population management database and fed back through software currently used by staff working with primary care providers. Staff at control facilities continue to use the same population management database and software but only receive information on risk factor levels and selected medications.

Specific Aims:

• Evaluate the effectiveness of measurement and feedback of treatment intensification information in patients at high risk of CVD for improving rates of treatment intensification and for reducing levels of poorly controlled systolic blood pressure, LDL-c, and A1c.
• Evaluate the impact of the intervention, compared with current practice, on total numbers of patient contacts, outpatient visits, and costs of care in relation to improvements in risk factor control.
• Evaluate the effect of this innovation on physician and staff perceptions of the value (effectiveness and efficiency) of the population management program for high-risk patients.

Relevance: If this translational study shows that feedback of information on treatment intensification leads to higher rates of intensification and improved risk factor control, this finding will have shown a population-level use of health information technology for improving clinical quality and will also have validated treatment intensification as a metric of clinical quality.

Inclusion criteria

Among the randomized medical facilities, we will study a population that is drawn from the PHASE registry and includes patients with at least one of the following:

• Diabetes, coronary artery disease; congestive heart failure; stroke/tia; peripheral artery disease; chronic kidney disease; hypertension; or hyperlipidemia
• PHASE patients must be in poor control for at least one CVD risk factor and meet study criteria for needing treatment intensification at some point during the 6-month period.

Exclusion criteria

• All patients eligible for the study will be included in the analyses
• There will be no exclusions based on clinical or other criteria.