Team decreases hypertension meds by 22.3% using JNC-VI guides
Guideline, disease management plan affect change
Prior to the efforts of a team at Cedars-Sinai Medical Care Foundation (CSMCF) in Beverly Hills, CA, antihypertensive medications were accounting for nine of the 20 drugs on which the most money was being spent. Mary Denton, RN, chief administrative officer at CSMCF, says they were spending $139,000 per quarter for one health plan contract covering 4,000 patients. The facility proposed an initiative based on the premise that significant cost savings could result if prescribing patterns could be adjusted. A task force was created, and preliminary data on its hypertension (HT) program show clinical outcomes were maintained or improved and costs were decreased by nearly $30,000 in six months:
· nifedipine costs decreased from $50,000 to $40,000;
· lisinopril decreased from $33,000 to $24,000;
· diltiazem decreased from $24,000 to $18,000;
· total costs including lab, visits, and drugs were $6.40 lower per patient per month in the program group.
The CSMCF team made those accomplishments by first creating an evidence-based HT guideline in early 1997 patterned after the recommendations of the 1992 Fifth Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC-V).1
"The guideline has recently been updated to reflect the new JNC-VI criteria published late in 1997, but the changes are minimal," says Denton. (See story on JNC-VI guidelines for HT, p. 126.)
The team then reviewed charts and analyzed prescribing patterns of the most beneficial HT drugs. They contacted the physicians and, Denton says, took this approach: "According to the records, doctor, patient X is not totally controlled. Our guideline indicates these drugs or combinations. Would you be willing to try those?" Changing doctors' prescribing patterns had a substantial financial impact, she says.
The CSMCF guideline recommends beta blockers as first-line agents for patients with angina or a history of myocardial infarction, and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors for patients with concurrent congestive heart failure or diabetes. Isolated systolic HT, it states, warrants the use of low-dose thiazide diuretics.
While chart reviews revealed that, thanks to the guideline, CSMCF's patients did better than national averages, the team saw room to improve. They went on to design a comprehensive clinical management program involving pharmacists and emphasizing patient education and compliance.
Patients' perceptions decrease compliance
The team soon realized compliance with prescribed therapy is diminished by patients' perception of HT as acute rather than chronic. Also, the medications have side effects. Those stumbling blocks were overcome by having the clinical pharmacist see each patient each time he or she came in and provide education. "Patients come in more frequently, and their BP is monitored more closely," says Denton. "We go through the steps of the guideline aggressively and quickly."
Only patients with uncontrolled HT are included in the program. At the time - before JNC-VI was released - that meant for the general population, BP ³ 140/90 mm Hg, and for patients over 65, BP ³ 160/90 mm Hg. In a dedicated clinic that coordinates all needed resources, a pharmacist gathers information about patients' meds, side effects, and compliance. Care plans are formulated based on the team's guideline, and cases are discussed with the attending physician. Implementing the program requires three steps:
· Guideline dissemination: Aids are placed on patient charts as well as throughout the facility.
· Physician education: One-on-one sessions prove most successful.
· Data feedback: This measures compliance and outcomes, assesses the program's performance, and identifies problems. Outcomes measures include morbidity, mortality, health status, quality of life, patient satisfaction, resource utilization, and cost of care.
"Today we're analyzing the clinical and financial outcomes data from the management program," says Denton. "The preliminary data look very favorable."
Reference
1. National High Blood Pressure Education Program. The fifth report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC-V). Arch Intern Med 1993; 153: 154-183.
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