Use of statins by medicare beneficiaries post myocardial infarction: poor physician quality or patient-centered care?

Mary C Schroeder; Jennifer G Robinson; Cole G Chapman; John M Brooks

doi:10.1177/0046958015571131

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Use of statins by medicare beneficiaries post myocardial infarction: poor physician quality or patient-centered care?

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Use of statins by medicare beneficiaries post myocardial infarction: poor physician quality or patient-centered care?

Mary C Schroeder, Jennifer G Robinson, Cole G Chapman and John M Brooks

Inquiry (Chicago), Vol.52(1), pp.1-5

2015

DOI: 10.1177/0046958015571131

PMCID: PMC5813626

PMID: 25724749

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Abstract

Even though guidelines strongly recommend that patients receive a statin for secondary prevention after an acute myocardial infarction (MI), many elderly patients do not fill a statin prescription within 30 days of discharge. This paper assesses whether patterns of statin use by Medicare beneficiaries post-discharge may be due to a mix of high-quality and low-quality physicians. Our data come from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Chronic Condition Data Warehouse (CCW) and include 100% of Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized for an acute myocardial infarction in 2008 or 2009. Our study sample included physicians treating at least 10 Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries during their MI institutional stay. Physician-specific statin fill rates (the proportion of each physician's patients with a statin within 30 days post-discharge) were calculated to assess physician quality. We hypothesized that if the observed statin rates reflected a mix of high-quality and low-quality physicians, then physician-specific statin fill rates should follow a u-shaped or bimodal distribution. In our sample, 62% of patients filled a statin prescription within 30 days of discharge. We found that the distribution of statin fill rates across physicians was normal, with no clear distinctions in physician quality. Physicians, especially cardiologists, with relatively younger and healthier patient populations had higher rates of statin use. Our results suggest that physicians were engaging in patient-centered care, tailoring treatments to patient characteristics.

Practice Patterns, Physicians' - standards

Medicare

United States

Humans

Patient-Centered Care

Patient Discharge

Fee-for-Service Plans

Male

Drug Prescriptions - standards

Guideline Adherence

Myocardial Infarction - drug therapy

Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors - therapeutic use

Female

Aged

Details

Title: Subtitle: Use of statins by medicare beneficiaries post myocardial infarction: poor physician quality or patient-centered care?
Creators: Mary C Schroeder - University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA mary-schroeder@uiowa.edu
Jennifer G Robinson - University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
Cole G Chapman - University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA
John M Brooks - University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Inquiry (Chicago), Vol.52(1), pp.1-5
DOI: 10.1177/0046958015571131
PMID: 25724749
PMCID: PMC5813626
NLM abbreviation: Inquiry
ISSN: 0046-9580
eISSN: 1945-7243
Publisher: United States
Grant note: 1R21HS019574-01 / AHRQ HHS R21 HS019574 / AHRQ HHS
Language: English
Date published: 2015
Academic Unit: Pharmacy; Epidemiology; Pharmacy Practice and Science; Internal Medicine
Record Identifier: 9983995053202771

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