Health Outcomes of Population-Based Pharmacy Outreach to Increase Statin Use for Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease in Patients with Diabetes

BACKGROUND: In 2003, Group Health implemented a pharmacy-based, systemwide outreach effort to increase the preventive use of statins and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors in enrollees at risk for cardiovascular disease, including all enrollees with diabetes. OBJECTIVE: To estimate the associations between the use of statins and major vascular events and the total costs in 2006-2010 for enrollees with diabetes, using a pharmacy-based, systemwide outreach. METHODS: In a 14-year (1997-2010) longitudinal cohort study design, the study population consisted of 6,975 Group Health enrollees with type 1 or type 2 diabetes, who were enrolled continuously and had no statin use before the Group Health outreach in 1997-2002. Health outcomes were all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, myocardial infarction, and stroke. Statin exposure was measured by cumulative statin use since 2003, weighted by the effect of the statin type and dose on the lowering of low-density lipoprotein levels. Regression models estimated associations between cumulative statin use, health outcomes, and total costs in 2006-2010. RESULTS: Among enrollees with no statin use before outreach began in 2003, about half had no or low exposure to statins by the end of 2005. In 2006-2010, cumulative statin use was greater among enrollees with risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Greater statin use was related to lower cardiovascular deaths and incidence of stroke and myocardial infarction, greater but nonsignificant all-cause mortality, and unrelated to total costs. CONCLUSIONS: Population-based pharmacy outreach increased statin use for eligible enrollees with diabetes, which was related to better cardiovascular outcomes. Generally, statin use was unrelated to all-cause mortality and total costs.