Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a persistent public health challenge, and patients remain at risk of a cardiovascular event despite clinical guidelines aimed at managing elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). A session at the AMCP 2025 Annual Meeting offered a real-world example of how to enhance patient outcomes and promote population health.
Cardiovascular disease is associated with 2.2 million hospitalizations a year, and myocardial infarctions (MIs) have been among the top 10 causes of hospitalization.
Lipid management is an important component of MI risk reduction; however, there is a great unmet need for lipid management among patients with atherosclerotic CVD. Current clinical guidelines emphasize the importance of lowering LDL-C in this patient population.
The presenters outlined a goal to reduce the number of cardiovascular events by 50% by 2030, with the following 4 tactics outlined as important drivers of this goal:
- Increase LDL-C testing
- Double the number of patients on target (LDL-C <70 or <55 mg/dL)
- Implement guidelines and quality metrics
- Improve patient access
They noted that these endeavors will require multistakeholder alignment among healthcare professionals, patients, payers, and policymakers.
The presentation then focused on a partnership between Amgen and Optum that piloted a “high-touch, personalized outreach, action-oriented” approach to improve outcomes for patients with hyperlipidemia. The program involved 671 patients who had discussions with a pharmacist about their hyperlipidemia care. The pharmacists then communicated specific recommendations to the patient’s primary care clinician.
The pharmacist outreach initiative sought to drive adherence and induce alignment among the health plan, clinician, and patient to deliver guideline-based care and increase coordination.
The pilot program saw the following results:
- 2.1× improvement in moving toward guideline-based care
- 38% improvement in achieving full guideline adherence
- 4× improvement in moving from no statin to a moderate- or high-intensity statin
- 14% increase in patients with LDL on record
The presenters noted that it is essential for clinical engagement to meet members where they are in their personal healthcare journey and build bridges to reinforce connections and messaging among the patient, outreach team, and primary care clinician.
These findings can help inform future pharmacist outreach endeavors to increase guideline-based care and adherence, as well as patient engagement.
This session was sponsored by Amgen.
Reference Conley E, Kelley T, Steward-Judie K. Transforming cardiovascular care: using collaborations to improve outcomes. Session D3. Presented at: AMCP 2025; March 31-April 3, 2025; Houston, TX.
