Identifying Opportunities for Impact of Community-Based Pharmacist-Led Biometric Health Screenings on ASCVD Risk

Abstract

Introduction. Community-based pharmacists are uniquely positioned to assist in the early detection of underlying cardiovascular disease (CVD) as it affects approximately 50% of adults in the United States. To facilitate discussion between providers and patients, the 2013 Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular (ASCVD) Risk Estimator Plus was created to calculate a patient’s cardiovascular risk for primary prevention. Organizations utilize annual biometric health screenings to help employees identify health risks previously undetected. The goal of this study was to evaluate how community-based pharmacists could impact ASCVD risk for a large population.  

Methods. This was a retrospective analysis of annual pharmacist-led 15-minute biometric health screening data from a large regional community-based pharmacy chain. Employees between the ages of 20 and 79 who had completed at least three biometric health screenings between July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2020 were included. Incomplete biometric health screening records were excluded. To calculate cardiovascular risk and identify perceived gaps in care, prescription fill history of study participants were used. The pharmacists did not make clinical interventions with the information found.

Results. A total of 10,001 patients were included. Median baseline ASCVD risk was 1.5% and increased to 1.8% (P<0.001). Additionally, 1,187 patients with an ASCVD risk ≥7.5%, showed statistically significant improvements in several screening parameters.  

Conclusions. Improvements were seen in several biometric health screening parameters. If community-based pharmacists were to clinically intervene, there would be a potential for greater CVD prevention.