The new lipid guidelines: what do primary care clinicians think?

Background: Little is known about the opinions of primary care clinicians regarding the newly released 2013 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) Guidelines for the Prevention of Primary and Secondary Atherosclerotic Disease. This survey was created to assess the awareness, attitudes, and practices of primary care clinicians on adoption of the new guidelines and to explore obstacles to implementation and suggestions for improving shared decision-making.

Methods: Six hundred practicing clinicians within the San Francisco Bay Area Collaborative Research Network were invited to participate in this cross-sectional, Internet-based pilot survey of primary care clinicians. These survey data were collected in March 2014, approximately 4 months after the release of the new guidelines and 1 month after the release of the ACC/AHA risk estimator application.

Results: One hundred eighty-three clinicians responded to the survey. Of those respondents, 176 (96%) were aware of the guidelines. The majority (64%) reported implementing the new guidelines with at least some of their patients, while a minority (25%) reported adopting the guidelines for many of their patients. Disagreeing with the guidelines was the main hindrance to adoption.

Conclusions: While many primary care clinicians are aware of the new guidelines, a substantial proportion has yet to implement them into their clinical practice, and obstacles remain for full adoption. Further understanding of clinicians' views, opinions, and needs is necessary to optimize the approach to lipid management and ensure integration into current practice.