BACKGROUND
Chart-Based Collaborative Medication Review (CMR) to Improve Care of 641 Patients with
Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) in a Veterans Affair Medical Center(VAMC)
Harleen Singh, PharmD, BCPS1, Jessina C. McGregor, PhD1, Justin Bednar BS1, Elva Van Devender, PhD1, Tammy Chan BS1, Sharon Shiraga, PharmD1 , Greg C. Larsen MD2
(1)Oregon State University/Oregon Health & Science University College of Pharmacy, Portland, Oregon and (2) Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center (PVAMC), Portland, OR
METHODS
RESULTS
 As more demands are placed on primary care providers, new innovative models of care are
required to optimize heart failure (HF) care.
 The core of the HF clinic at the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center (PVAMC) involves
a close collaboration between Portland’s primary care division, the cardiology section, and
pharmacy.
 This obligation is met by rotating two new primary care physicians (PCPs) into the clinic
every three months for a three month “practicum.”
 PVAMC now has 28 primary practitioners, providing the medical center with a new
“reservoir” of HF management talent.
 The intent of the current proposal is to leverage that talent to reach a larger number of HF
patients that cannot be seen easily in the HF clinic and do it without additional cardiologist
or clinic resources.
 The objective of this research was to characterize guideline-based drug or device therapy
recommendations by a CMR team and to evaluate the rate of acceptance of these
recommendations by PCPs.
 A preliminary assessment of the management of HF patients by CMR
 Inclusion criteria:
Patient followed by one of the sixteen selected providers
ICD-9 code for HF
EF ≤ 40%
 Exclusion criteria:
Currently being followed by the PVAMC HF Clinic
Patient is deceased
 Electronic medical records for 641 patients followed by the sixteen selected PCPs were
screened for an ICD-9 code for HF.
 The charts of patients with ejection fractions (EF) <40% were then abstracted in more
detail to include a list of active medical problems, current medications, one to five year
trends in vital signs, weights, renal function tests, and potassium levels.
 Each patient’s data was then presented to the CMR team comprised of a cardiologist,
hospitalist, and pharmacist at the PVAMC, all of whom work in the HF clinic.
 For each patient three questions were asked: (1) can new life-prolonging medications
safely be prescribed?; (2) can previously prescribed life-prolonging medications be up-
titrated to more optimal levels?; and (3) might the patient be a candidate for a primary
prevention implantable defibrillator?
 Providers were then given specific recommendations in the form of a brief electronic chart
note.
 Baseline characteristics of patients were compared between those patients from whom
recommendations were made and for whom no recommendations were made using the
Fisher’s exact test and t-test.
SUMMARY/CONCLUSIONS
 Parallel chart review by a multidisciplinary group is feasible and effective
 69% of the patients had HF with preserved EFs (>40%), for which no guideline-prescribed
life-prolonging therapies are known.
 156 (90%) patients were identified for detailed chart review
 Our acceptance rates for recommendations are promising
 Patients with chronic kidney disease or a history of hyperkalemia were significantly less likely
to receive a recommendation
 We believe that parallel chart review aimed at identifying opportunities to optimize HF therapy
can improve the effectiveness of PCP-managed HF care.
 Further follow-up will evaluate the impact of these recommendations on patient outcomes.
Figure 2. Electronic Chart Note Showing Recommendations
Initial Review presented to the CMR TeamInitial Review presented to the CMR Team
Figure 1.Initial Review presented to the CMR Team
Initial Review presented to the CMR Team
Harleen Singh: singhh@ohsu.edu
METHODS (CONTINUED)
Figure 3: Identification of patients and recommendations
641 patient charts screened
51 (8%) patients died
62 (10%) patients had no EF’s
10 (2%) patients were no longer followed
by PCP reviewed
516 patients selected for
further evaluation
343 (66%) patients had EF ≥ 40%
173 patients had EF ≤ 40%
17 (10%) patients followed by HF
clinic
156 patients who had
detailed chart review
70 patients received 98 recommendations
• 58 (59%) recommendations were for
guideline-based therapies
• 13 (13%) recommendations were for
consideration of device therapy
• 24 (24%) recommendations were to
update lab tests or echocardiograms
• 3 (3%) recommendations were for
additional drug therapy
32 recommendations are
pending PCP consultation
with patient
66 (67%) recommendations have so far
been accepted by the PCPs
• Median time to acceptance of
recommendations was 15 days
(range: 0-265 days)
RESULTS (CONTINUED)
Table 1. Baseline Characteristics of 156 Systolic HF Patients
Characteristic
Patients given
Recommendations
Patients not given
Recommendations
p-value
Age, median (SD) 67.8 (9.6) 68.7 (8.7) 0.55
Male sex 70 (100%) 85 (98.8%) >0.99
Race, White 34 (48.6%) 38 (44.2%) 0.63
Chronic Kidney Disease 9 (12.9%) 35 (40.7%) <0.01
Diabetes 32 (45.7%) 50 (58.1%) 0.15
Hyperlipidemia 53 (75.7%) 65 (75.6%) >0.99
Hypertension 60 (85.7%) 67 (77.9%) 0.30
COPD/Asthma 22 (31.4%) 27 (31.4%) >0.99
History of Hyperkalemia 18 (25.7%) 43 (50.0%) <0.01
Atrial Fibrillation 27 (38.6%) 27 (31.4%) 0.40
Patients at Lipid Goal 61 (91.04) 70 (83.33) 0.23
DM patients at A1c Goal 31 (64.58) 30 (51.72) 0.24
Patients at Blood
Pressure Goal 52 (74.29) 67 (78.82) 0.567

HFSA poster FINAL

  • 1.
    BACKGROUND Chart-Based Collaborative MedicationReview (CMR) to Improve Care of 641 Patients with Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) in a Veterans Affair Medical Center(VAMC) Harleen Singh, PharmD, BCPS1, Jessina C. McGregor, PhD1, Justin Bednar BS1, Elva Van Devender, PhD1, Tammy Chan BS1, Sharon Shiraga, PharmD1 , Greg C. Larsen MD2 (1)Oregon State University/Oregon Health & Science University College of Pharmacy, Portland, Oregon and (2) Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center (PVAMC), Portland, OR METHODS RESULTS  As more demands are placed on primary care providers, new innovative models of care are required to optimize heart failure (HF) care.  The core of the HF clinic at the Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center (PVAMC) involves a close collaboration between Portland’s primary care division, the cardiology section, and pharmacy.  This obligation is met by rotating two new primary care physicians (PCPs) into the clinic every three months for a three month “practicum.”  PVAMC now has 28 primary practitioners, providing the medical center with a new “reservoir” of HF management talent.  The intent of the current proposal is to leverage that talent to reach a larger number of HF patients that cannot be seen easily in the HF clinic and do it without additional cardiologist or clinic resources.  The objective of this research was to characterize guideline-based drug or device therapy recommendations by a CMR team and to evaluate the rate of acceptance of these recommendations by PCPs.  A preliminary assessment of the management of HF patients by CMR  Inclusion criteria: Patient followed by one of the sixteen selected providers ICD-9 code for HF EF ≤ 40%  Exclusion criteria: Currently being followed by the PVAMC HF Clinic Patient is deceased  Electronic medical records for 641 patients followed by the sixteen selected PCPs were screened for an ICD-9 code for HF.  The charts of patients with ejection fractions (EF) <40% were then abstracted in more detail to include a list of active medical problems, current medications, one to five year trends in vital signs, weights, renal function tests, and potassium levels.  Each patient’s data was then presented to the CMR team comprised of a cardiologist, hospitalist, and pharmacist at the PVAMC, all of whom work in the HF clinic.  For each patient three questions were asked: (1) can new life-prolonging medications safely be prescribed?; (2) can previously prescribed life-prolonging medications be up- titrated to more optimal levels?; and (3) might the patient be a candidate for a primary prevention implantable defibrillator?  Providers were then given specific recommendations in the form of a brief electronic chart note.  Baseline characteristics of patients were compared between those patients from whom recommendations were made and for whom no recommendations were made using the Fisher’s exact test and t-test. SUMMARY/CONCLUSIONS  Parallel chart review by a multidisciplinary group is feasible and effective  69% of the patients had HF with preserved EFs (>40%), for which no guideline-prescribed life-prolonging therapies are known.  156 (90%) patients were identified for detailed chart review  Our acceptance rates for recommendations are promising  Patients with chronic kidney disease or a history of hyperkalemia were significantly less likely to receive a recommendation  We believe that parallel chart review aimed at identifying opportunities to optimize HF therapy can improve the effectiveness of PCP-managed HF care.  Further follow-up will evaluate the impact of these recommendations on patient outcomes. Figure 2. Electronic Chart Note Showing Recommendations Initial Review presented to the CMR TeamInitial Review presented to the CMR Team Figure 1.Initial Review presented to the CMR Team Initial Review presented to the CMR Team Harleen Singh: [email protected] METHODS (CONTINUED) Figure 3: Identification of patients and recommendations 641 patient charts screened 51 (8%) patients died 62 (10%) patients had no EF’s 10 (2%) patients were no longer followed by PCP reviewed 516 patients selected for further evaluation 343 (66%) patients had EF ≥ 40% 173 patients had EF ≤ 40% 17 (10%) patients followed by HF clinic 156 patients who had detailed chart review 70 patients received 98 recommendations • 58 (59%) recommendations were for guideline-based therapies • 13 (13%) recommendations were for consideration of device therapy • 24 (24%) recommendations were to update lab tests or echocardiograms • 3 (3%) recommendations were for additional drug therapy 32 recommendations are pending PCP consultation with patient 66 (67%) recommendations have so far been accepted by the PCPs • Median time to acceptance of recommendations was 15 days (range: 0-265 days) RESULTS (CONTINUED) Table 1. Baseline Characteristics of 156 Systolic HF Patients Characteristic Patients given Recommendations Patients not given Recommendations p-value Age, median (SD) 67.8 (9.6) 68.7 (8.7) 0.55 Male sex 70 (100%) 85 (98.8%) >0.99 Race, White 34 (48.6%) 38 (44.2%) 0.63 Chronic Kidney Disease 9 (12.9%) 35 (40.7%) <0.01 Diabetes 32 (45.7%) 50 (58.1%) 0.15 Hyperlipidemia 53 (75.7%) 65 (75.6%) >0.99 Hypertension 60 (85.7%) 67 (77.9%) 0.30 COPD/Asthma 22 (31.4%) 27 (31.4%) >0.99 History of Hyperkalemia 18 (25.7%) 43 (50.0%) <0.01 Atrial Fibrillation 27 (38.6%) 27 (31.4%) 0.40 Patients at Lipid Goal 61 (91.04) 70 (83.33) 0.23 DM patients at A1c Goal 31 (64.58) 30 (51.72) 0.24 Patients at Blood Pressure Goal 52 (74.29) 67 (78.82) 0.567