title: Clinically relevant quality measures for risk factor control in primary care: a retrospective cohort study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Assessment of the proportion of patients with well controlled cardiovascular risk factors underestimates the proportion of patients receiving high quality of care. Evaluating whether physicians respond appropriately to poor risk factor control gives a different picture of quality of care. We assessed physician response to control cardiovascular risk factors, as well as markers of potential overtreatment in Switzerland, a country with universal healthcare coverage but without systematic quality monitoring, annual report cards on quality of care or financial incentives to improve quality.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a retrospective cohort study of 1002 randomly selected patients aged 50-80 years from four university primary care settings in Switzerland. For hypertension, dyslipidemia and diabetes mellitus, we first measured proportions in control, then assessed therapy modifications among those in poor control. "Appropriate clinical action" was defined as a therapy modification or return to control without therapy modification within 12 months among patients with baseline poor control. Potential overtreatment of these conditions was defined as intensive treatment among low-risk patients with optimal target values.
  
  
  RESULTS
  20% of patients with hypertension, 41% with dyslipidemia and 36% with diabetes mellitus were in control at baseline. When appropriate clinical action in response to poor control was integrated into measuring quality of care, 52 to 55% had appropriate quality of care. Over 12 months, therapy of 61% of patients with baseline poor control was modified for hypertension, 33% for dyslipidemia, and 85% for diabetes mellitus. Increases in number of drug classes (28-51%) and in drug doses (10-61%) were the most common therapy modifications. Patients with target organ damage and higher baseline values were more likely to have appropriate clinical action. We found low rates of potential overtreatment with 2% for hypertension, 3% for diabetes mellitus and 3-6% for dyslipidemia.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In primary care, evaluating whether physicians respond appropriately to poor risk factor control, in addition to assessing proportions in control, provide a broader view of the quality of care than relying solely on measures of proportions in control. Such measures could be more clinically relevant and acceptable to physicians than simply reporting levels of control.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Weiler
authors.forename: Armin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gemperli
authors.forename: Tinh-Hai
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Collet
authors.forename: Douglas C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Bauer
authors.forename: Lukas
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zimmerli
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cornuz
authors.forename: Edouard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Battegay
authors.forename: Jean-Michel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Gaspoz
authors.forename: Eve A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Kerr
authors.forename: Drahomir
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Aujesky
authors.affiliation: Department of General Internal Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland. nicolas.rodondi@insel.ch.
authors.forename: Nicolas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rodondi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000592:standards*; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013557:Switzerland / Q000453:epidemiology