• Shannon Munro Cohen and Merle Kataoka-Yahiro.
• University of Hawaii at Manoa School of Nursing, 2528 McCarthy Mall, Webster Hall, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
• Mil Med. 2010 Feb 1; 175 (2): 122126122-6.

AbstractThe objective of this study was to determine whether health care providers at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (VAMC) in Salem, Virginia were adherent to lipid-lowering medication guidelines over a 5-year period. Five hundred randomly chosen electronic medical records of veterans with diabetes, congestive heart failure, and/or coronary artery disease were examined for the use of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors as part of a larger study on patient-provider adherence to cardiovascular risk-reduction guidelines. Study findings indicated that health care providers prescribed HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors to patients at high risk per evidence-based guidelines. Provider adherence to guidelines rose each year of the study, which coincided with the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center efforts to educate health care providers about the evidence-based guidelines, utilization of computer-generated reminders, open access appointment scheduling, and increased collaboration with patients.

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