title: Analysis and comparison of statin prescription patterns and outcomes according to clinical department.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  There is a disparity between the Korean treatment guidelines and actual clinical prescription habits. This study was designed to evaluate the department-specific disparities and achievement rates for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) targets, based on each department's specific statin prescription patterns.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively evaluated data from 31 718 patients who had been prescribed a statin at least once between January 2008 and June 2013 at our institution. Patients were classified into the high-risk (target LDL-C < 100 mg/dL) or moderate-risk (target LDL-C < 130 mg/dL) groups, according to the National Cholesterol Education Programme-Adult Treatment Panel III guidelines.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Statins were most commonly prescribed in the cardiology (32·0%) and endocrinology (26·6%) departments. For the high-risk group, 70% of patients in the cardiology, endocrinology and cardiac surgery departments achieved their target LDL-C levels (<100 mg/dL). However, the target achievement rates in most other departments were <70%. For the moderate-risk group, 79·2% of patients achieved their target levels. Departments that prescribed a greater number of high- or intermediate-potency statins were more likely to achieve their target LDL-C levels. The group that achieved their target LDL-C levels (<100 mg/dL) exhibited a significant positive relationship (Spearman's correlation coefficient = 0·8571, P = 0·0065), from low to high potency.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Some departments tend to undertreat when prescribing statins. However, to reach to the target LDL-C levels, physicians must overcome their tendency to undertreat with statins. We believe that the target achievement rate will increase if doctors are more actively aware of a patient's individual status and related risk factors before prescribing statins.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Informatics, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.|Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: H-S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: College of Pharmacy, Sookmyung Women's University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Industrial and Management Engineering, Pohang University of Science and Technology, Pohang, Korea.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Informatics, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.|Department of Information System, Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Informatics, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.|Department of Information System, Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: S-H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular surgery, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Division of Biomedical Informatics, Systems Biomedical Informatics Research Center, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Informatics, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.|Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: K-H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Informatics, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: I Y
authors.initials: IY
authors.lastname: Choi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D008078:Cholesterol, LDL / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006748:Hospital Departments / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D056910:Republic of Korea; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D008078:Cholesterol, LDL; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors
keywords: HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor (statin); Hypercholesterolaemia; LDL-cholesterol; target achievement rate; treatment gap