Racial Disparities in Lipid Screening Among Patients With Coronary Artery Disease Narrowed in Primary Care Settings Supportive of Nurse Practitioners

Background

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the most prevalent heart disease in the United States, and it disproportionately affects Black compared to White patients. Regular primary care and dyslipidemia screening and management are essential for optimal CAD care. Nurse practitioners (NPs) increasingly provide primary care services, though unsupportive practice environments may constrain their ability to do so.

Purpose

To examine whether disparities in lipid screening between Black and White patients with CAD were associated with the NP practice environment scores.

Methods

Cross-sectional survey data from NPs in primary care practices and Medicare claims were linked to evaluate outcomes among 111,911 CAD patients (94% White, 6% Black) across 456 primary care practices in four states (California, Florida, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) in 2016. The NP-Primary Care Organizational Climate Questionnaire, which provides a score on the supportiveness of a respondent’s practice, was used to evaluate the NP practice environment. Multilevel regression models that accounted for patient and practice characteristics were used to evaluate the study aim.

Results

Compared to White patients with CAD, Black patients with CAD less frequently received annual lipid screening (77.0% vs. 70.6%; p < .001). In logistic regression models accounting for patient and practice characteristics, for every standard deviation increase in the practice environment score, Black patients experienced a 5% increase in odds of receiving lipid screening.

Conclusion

Investing in the NP practice environment, including increasing NP role visibility and strengthening relationships with physicians and administrators, may narrow racial disparities in CAD management.