Table 5.

Perceived barriers for managing CVD patients

	Family Physicians	General Internists	Overall
Adverse effects of drugs	50.4%	52.3%	51.1%
Patient adherence	73.7%	74.1%	73.8%
Presence of co-morbid conditions	59.6%	56.3%	58.4%
Cost of medications	89.4%	87.7%	88.8%
Number of drugs needed for adequate blood pressure control	74.0%	75.1%	74.4%
Patient understanding of treatment goals	53.8%	51.4%	52.9%
Adequate time to address lifestyle issues with patients	52.2%	55.4%	53.4%
Adequate patient-education tools regarding lifestyle issues	44.0%	47.1%	45.1%
Knowledge and skills to provide dietary recommendations	46.2%	47.8%	46.9%
Knowledge and skills to facilitate patient adherence	44.7%	52.0%	47.4%

Each item was rated on a 1–5 Likert scale (1 = not a significant barrier, 5 = significant barrier).

Percentage reported represents those who indicated a 4 or 5 on the scale.

CVD, cardiovascular disease

Overall refers to the combined results of family physicians and general internists