Abstract 13893: In an Aortic System of Care Model, Adherence to Guideline Based Care Ii Hampered by Gaps in the Collection, Reporting, and Communication of Echocardiogram Data

Introduction: Aortic Stenosis (AS) is one of the most common and serious valve diseases, affecting 5% of Americans age 65 or older. Currently, there lacks a national system of care addressing the AS care continuum. The American Heart Association (AHA) has a history of success in systems of care and seeks to apply this experience to create similar for the AS patient through the program, Target: AS. Hypothesis: A key step in an Aortic Stenosis system of care is the identification of the patient’s diagnosis echocardiogram (echo). In some cases, the echo is initially performed at a location other than the tertiary hospital, and a consistent method of reporting the results to valve center does not currently exist. This inconsistency impacts guideline-based care. Methods: Target: AS pilot measures, following current guidelines, were developed with guidance from the AHA’s aortic stenosis scientific advisory group. Hospitals entered 2020 baseline data into the Target: AS data collection tool. Data elements were collected towards the measure: “Percentage of moderate aortic stenosis patients receiving a follow-up echocardiogram during the measurement period that is within 24 months of prior echocardiogram.” Sites reviewed data 24 months prior to the baseline year for the initial echo data. Results: 123 patients in 8 pilot hospitals met inclusion criteria. Overall performance - 53% of patients had a follow-up echo with 24 months. Range was 0% - 65%. All but one patient that failed the measure was due to missing or unavailable prior echo. Engagement with sites through 1:1 interviews, data abstractor calls, and quarterly learning collaboratives revealed that hospitals are not able to find initial echo data in medical records, or that the information is not provided in a discrete manner. Conclusions: The 2020 ACC/AHA Guideline for the Management of Patients with Valvular Heart Disease states that patients diagnosed with moderate aortic stenosis should have a follow-up echo within 24 months of the diagnostic echo. Early data demonstrates that in all but one case, when hospitals cannot meet this guideline, it is due to not having the initial echo results. A hospital cannot monitor its adherence with guideline-based care when it does not have access to necessary data.