Provider Education on Statin Decision Aid Use for Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this quality improvement project was to improve provider awareness, confidence, and intent to use shared decision-making (SDM) to facilitate discussion of primary prevention statin therapy with patients at a local primary care clinic.Background: SDM is a collaborative process between providers and patients to make informed medical decisions based on clinical evidence and the patient’s values. Recent cardiology guidelines recommend SDM for guiding decisions related to the initiation of statin therapy for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease. The use of decision aids can help improve the practice of SDM by facilitating provider-patient discussion of the benefits and harms of treatment options. Methods: This project employed a pretest/posttest design. Rogers’ diffusion of innovation theory and the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle aided in the project design and intervention planning. Project outcomes were measured with a pretest and posttest survey. An educational video on SDM and the use of a statin decision aid was developed and sent to potential participants. Participation was voluntary. Data was collected and analyzed to evaluate providers’ awareness, usage, confidence, and perceived obstacles to the implementation of the statin decision aid. Results: A 60% survey response rate was achieved. Following the educational intervention, respondents reported increased knowledge of SDM and increased usage of decision aids in the two-week post-intervention period. All three participants reported a lack of time during appointments as a perceived barrier to implementing decision aids into their practice. Conclusions: The intervention resulted in increased provider awareness, knowledge, and intent to utilize SDM and a decision aid in the initiation of primary prevention statin therapy. Data collection was limited to a single primary care clinic site. This project’s findings may inform future research on the incorporation of decision aids into the clinic’s electronic health record (EHR).