Intervention to improve adherence to ACC/AHA recommended adjunctive medications for the management of patients with an acute myocardial infarction

Background: The most recent published guidelines regarding management of patients surviving an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) advocate the administration of aspirin (ASA), beta blockers (BB), and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEi) and discourages the use of calcium-channel blockers (CCB). Previous data collected in our region from the National Registry (NR) showed a dismal compliance with these guidelines. In an attempt to increase physician awareness and to optimize implementation of recommended guidelines, a cardiac and pharmacy steering committee was created. Methods: The pharmacist assigned to the project identified all patients admitted with an AMI using troponin-I and creatine kinase-PI MB (CK-MB) reports. The pharmacist then contacted physicians to make recommendations if an adjunctive medication was not prescribed for a patient with no apparent contraindications. Administration rates far ASA, BE, ACEi, and CCB were then assessed and compared with the previously obtained baseline data from the NR. Results: At admission, the use of ASA increased from 70 to 72%, BE from 45 to 72%, and ACEi from 12 to 44%. In terms of medications at discharge, ASA use increased from 74 to 88%, BE from 55 to 76%, and ACEI from 30 to 40%. In addition, the prescription rates for CCB at discharge decreased from 36 to 21%. Conclusions: An interdisciplinary approach for disease management is an effective method for improving adherence to treatment guidelines simply with pharmacy intervention. The percentage of patients receiving the recommended adjunctive medications increased significantly. We propose that these guidelines should be periodically inserviced to physicians. Furthermore, patient counseling sessions should also be instituted to help reinforce the importance of compliance with the medications after discharge, as well as lipid management and smoking cessation.