February is American Heart Month and the month of love. Encourage your patients to give their hearts the love they need. Recommend a heart-healthy lifestyle and engage patients managing cardiovascular disease to be proactive in their own care.
To help reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke, the American Heart Association recommends statins of moderate or high intensity for adults with clinical atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
Here are a few tips to support statin use for patients with cardiovascular disease:
- Discuss why they are on a specific statin medication and explain the role and importance of statin therapy.
- Identify and help resolve patient-specific barriers to medication adherence or concerns, such as adverse side effects or cost.
- Recommend mail order and/or a 90-day prescription of maintenance drugs.
Statin therapy is only one aspect of care for patients with cardiovascular disease but has a significant impact on measuring overall effectiveness of care. For patients who have experienced a cardiac event (heart attack, heart transplant, etc.), strong evidence shows that cardiac rehabilitation can significantly improve functional status and other important health factors.
Cardiac rehabilitation consists of the following, which are often covered by health insurance plans and federal programs:
- Exercise counseling and training.
- Education for heart-healthy living.
- Counseling to reduce stress.
- Maintaining healthy blood pressure.
HEDIS Tips for Controlling High Blood Pressure
The Controlling Blood Pressure (CBP) measure is for patients 18 to 85 years old who had a diagnosis of hypertension and whose blood pressure (BP) was adequately controlled. The BP must be less than 140/90. To monitor the CBP, you can:
- Document the BP at each visit.
- Indicate the date the BP was taken.
If the initial BP is greater than 140/90, retake the patient’s BP at the end of the visit. If the BP remains elevated, ensure the patient returns for a repeat BP reading in at least two weeks.