Table 1.
Characteristics of patients and clinicians
| Patients | N(%) N=295 |
|---|---|
| Age (years) | |
| 50-64 | 70 (24) |
| 65-80 | 118 (40) |
| 80 and older | 107 (36) |
| Male sex | 290 (98) |
| Race | |
| White | 187 (63) |
| Black | 19 (6) |
| Other | 8 (3) |
| Not stated | 81 (27) |
| Qualifying LVEF* | |
| <30% | 107 (36) |
| 30-40% | 172 (58) |
| Qualitative value | 16 (5) |
| Comorbid conditions | |
| Coronary heart disease | 211 (72) |
| Diabetes | 122 (41) |
| Chronic lung disease | 110 (37) |
| Atrial fibrillation | 108 (37) |
| Depression | 109 (37) |
| Cancer (non-prostate) | 35 (12) |
| Dementia | 25 (8) |
| Time since last primary care visit | |
| < 2 months | 67 (22) |
| 2-6 months | 166 (56) |
| 7-12 months | 39 (13) |
| >1 year | 15 (5) |
| No primary care visits | 8 (3) |
| Time since last cardiology visit | |
| < 2 months | 35 (12) |
| 2-6 months | 54 (18) |
| 7-12 months | 32 (11) |
| >1 year | 65 (22) |
| No cardiology visits | 109 (37) |
| Co-managed with any non-VA clinician? | |
| Yes | 120 (41) |
| No | 146 (49) |
| Unsure | 29 (10) |
| Study site | |
| Site 1 | 65 (22) |
| Site 2 | 93 (32) |
| Site 3 | 57 (19) |
| Site 4 | 80 (27) |
| Clinicians interviewed | N (%) N=62 |
|---|---|
| Male sex | 30 (48%) |
| Professional status | |
| Staff Physician | 54 (87%) |
| Nurse Practitioner | 8 (13%) |
| Specialty | |
| General Internal Medicine | 38 (61%) |
| Geriatrics | 11 (18%) |
| Family Medicine | 10 (16%) |
| Cardiology or other | 3 (5%) |
| Years since graduated from professional school (median, IQR) | 17 (IQR 12,25) |
| Days per week in clinic (median, IQR) | 5 (IQR 3.5,5) |
*
LVEF that qualified the patient as eligible for the study. Some patients had qualitative documentation of “moderately” or “severely” depressed LVEF but no numeric LVEF value recorded in the medical record.
The 62 patients that were the focus of interviews had similar characteristics as the 233 patients who were not discussed in clinician interviews, but had visited their primary care clinician more recently than non-interview patients (median 72 vs. 103 days, P=.04; see Supplemental Digital Content Appendix 3).