New York
Provider Communications
Statin therapy for patients with diabetes
Studies show that statin use reduces comorbidities and mortality from heart disease and non-adherence to statins may increase cardiovascular events and even death.2
Clinicians play a powerful role in ensuring their patients are adherent to their statin therapies. In fact, 90% of patients can be successfully adherent to statin therapy with a personalized approach.
We created this video to offer clinicians best practices in helping their patients remain adherent to their statin therapies.
The following 7 strategies can help increase adherence to statin therapy in your patients:
- Initiate statin therapy for patients with diabetes or clinical ASCVD as appropriate
- For diabetics without ASCVD, use MODERATE INTENSITY statin for primary prevention.2
- For diabetics with ASCVD, use HIGH INTENSITY statin for secondary prevention.1
- Low Intensity statins are not recommended unless unable to tolerate moderate or high intensity.4
Medications One of the following medications must have be dispensed to satisfy the SUPD measure. |
|
Drug Category |
Medications |
Statin medication |
· Lovastatin · Fluvastatin · Pravastatin · Simvastatin · Rosuvastatin · Atorvastatin · Pitavastatin |
Statin combination products |
· Atorvastatin / amlodipine · Atorvastatin / ezetimibe · Lovastatin / niacin · Simvastatin / ezetimibe · Simvastatin / niacin · Simvastatin / sitagliptin |
Timeframe |
Standard exclusion(s) |
Any time during the measurement year |
· End-stage renal disease · Hospice · Rhabdomyolysis or myopathy · Pregnancy, lactation, or fertility · Liver disease · Pre-diabetes · Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) |
- If a statin is not suitable for a patient, document exclusion criteria with the appropriate ICD-10 code
- Educate patients about the long-term cardiovascular benefits of statin therapy and potential side effects
- Try a lower dose, different statin, or consider intermittent statin therapy if there were previous statin-associated side effects
Intensity and Dose of Statin Therapy |
||
High Intensity |
Moderate Intensity |
Low Intensity |
Daily dose lowers LDL-C on average by ≈ ≥50% |
Daily dose lowers LDL-C on average by ≈ 30% to <50% |
Daily dose lowers LDL-C on average by <30% |
Atorvastatin 40-80 mg Rosuvastatin 20-40 mg |
Atorvastatin 10-20 mg Rosuvastatin 5-10 mg Simvastatin 20-40 mg Pravastatin 40-80 mg Lovastatin 40 mg Fluvastatin XL 80 mg Fluvastatin 40 mg bid Pitavastatin 2-4 mg |
Simvastatin 10 mg Pravastatin 10-20 mg Lovastatin 20 mg Fluvastatin 20-40 mg Pitavastatin 1 mg |
- Inform patients that a significant number of generic statin medications are available for $0 for a 90-day supply on most plans
- Encourage patients to use their plan ID card to fill statin medications
- Watch this video to learn best practices on helping improve statin therapy adherence and your organization’s overall quality and STARS performance.
Featured In:
September 2021 Newsletter