Facility-Level Variation in Reported Statin-Associated Side Effects Among Patients with Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease—Perspective from the Veterans Affair Healthcare System

Xiaoming Jia, Michelle T. Lee, David J. Ramsey, Mahmoud Al Rifai, Dhruv Mahtta, Chayakrit Krittanawong, Julia M. Akeroyd, Michael E. Matheny, Glenn Gobbel, Neil J. Stone, Christie M. Ballantyne, Laura A. Petersen, Salim S. Virani*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Purpose: Statin-associated side effects (SASEs) can limit statin adherence and present a potential barrier to optimal statin utilization. How standardized reporting of SASEs varies across medical facilities has not been well characterized. Methods: We assessed facility-level variation in SASE reporting among patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease receiving care across the Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare system from October 1, 2014, to September 30, 2015. The facility rates for SASE reporting were expressed as cases per 1000 patients with ASCVD. Facility-level variation was determined using hierarchical regression analysis to calculate median rate ratios (MRR [95% confidence interval]) by first using an unadjusted model and then adjusting for patient, provider, and facility characteristics. Results: Of the 1,248,158 patients with ASCVD included in our study across 130 facilities, 13.7% had at least one SASE reported. Individuals with a history of SASE were less likely to be on a statin at follow-up compared with those without SASE (72.0% vs 80.8%, p < 0.01). The median (interquartile range) facility rate of SASE reported was 140.5 (109.4–167.7) cases per 1000 patients with ASCVD. Significant facility-level variation in the rate of SASE reported was observed: MRR 1.38 (1.33–1.44) in the unadjusted model and MRR 1.56 (1.47–1.65) in the adjusted model. Conclusion: Significant facility-level variation in SASE reporting was found within the VA healthcare system suggesting room for improvement in standardized documentation of SASEs among medical facilities. This has the potential to lead to improvement in statin utilization.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)295-300
Number of pages6
JournalCardiovascular Drugs and Therapy
Volume36
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 2022

Keywords

  • Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease
  • Facility-level variations
  • Statin-associated side effects

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pharmacology
  • Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine
  • Pharmacology (medical)

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