Abstract
With heart disease persisting as the leading universal cause of death, cardiovascular primary prevention efforts highlight the importance of assessing atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk in the primary care setting. Clinical practice guidelines endorse risk assessments using the validated and cost-effective ASCVD Risk Calculator. The ASCVD Risk Calculator promotes the essential clinician-patient risk discussion, classifying a patient’s risk of experiencing an atherosclerotic-related event and promoting ASCVD risk-reducing interventions. The purpose of the three-part quality improvement project was to improve provider utilization and perception of the ASCVD Risk Calculator, facilitate clinician-patient risk discussions, and streamline processes for sustainability into a primary care clinic setting. Meeting five out of six quality improvement aims, the project demonstrated significant increases in ASCVD Risk Calculator utilization (70%), documentation standardization of ASCVD risk discussions (100%), delivery of ASCVD-focused patient education (82%), and improvement in provider perception, education, and awareness of the cardiovascular primary prevention measures. Recommendations include policy and quality assurance measures, provider continuing education, and EMR upgrades integrating the ASCVD Risk Calculator with preventative care action alerts.