Roxanne Phillips, MSN, APRN, NP-C, was honored with the best poster award on her quality improvement project on provider awareness to statin prescribing guidelines at the Society for Vascular Nursing 2019 Annual Meeting in Washington D.C.
The poster featured a quality-improvement program on statins for peripheral artery disease using health information technology. Ms. Phillips, a nurse practitioner with Vascular Institute of Chattanooga and DNP student at University of Alabama at Birmingham, determined electronic reminders in a patient’s electronic medical record increased the percentage of patients at VIC who were appropriately treated with statins based on best practice guidelines.
Statins are a class of drugs often prescribed by doctors to help lower cholesterol levels in the blood. By lowering the levels, they help prevent heart attacks and stroke. Studies show that, in certain people, statins reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke, and even death from heart disease by about 25 to 35 percent.
PAD is a common circulatory problem in which narrowed arteries reduce blood flow to the limbs, and all patients with this condition should take statins to reduce their risk of dying from heart attack and stroke, according to guidelines by the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology.
The Vascular Institute of Chattanooga is the area’s only comprehensive endovascular/vascular specialty center dedicated to critical limb disease with a special focus on amputation prevention. The staff of experts provide complete medical assessment, therapies and procedures with onsite surgical interventions if needed. Opened in 2016, its mission is to provide exceptional care by a passionate team of medical professionals. Primary services offered are clinical evaluation of patients with Peripheral Artery Disease, vascular and endovascular procedures, wound care services, ultrasound diagnostic services and screenings and EVLT vein therapy.
For more information, visit www.vascularinstituteofchattanooga.com or call 602-2750.