CVD Risk Assessment Measure – Proportion of Pregnant/Postpartum Patients That Receive CVD Risk Assessment with a Standardized Tool

The University of California, Irvine (UCI) implemented and tested a CVD risk assessment algorithm that can be integrated into the electronic health record (EHR) system that immediately identifies patients who are at increased risk for CVD. The unit of measurement is individual patients, and the population will include any patient who has a prenatal or postpartum visit in the hospital system. This includes pregnant and postpartum emancipated minors. The denominator in the CVD Risk Assessment Measure is all patients seen for pregnancy or postpartum care at a health care facility or hospital system. A hospital system includes Labor and Delivery (L & D), outpatient care in hospitals or at affiliated clinics, and private providers contracted with hospitals for delivery. The measure excludes patients with a preexisting heart problem, and patients who have another reason for visiting a clinic [not prenatal or postpartum care] and have a positive pregnancy test but plan to terminate the pregnancy or seek prenatal services elsewhere. This measure determines the percentage of pregnant or postpartum patients at a clinic who were assessed for CVD risk with a standardized tool, such as the CVD risk assessment algorithm developed by the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative (CMQCC). The aim is to perform a CVD risk assessment using a standardized tool on all (100 %) eligible pregnant/postpartum patients. Every single patient should be assessed for CVD risk at least once during their pregnancy and, if needed, additional times when new symptoms present during the pregnancy and/or postpartum period. A threshold has still to be determined (“at least xxx % of patients who received risk assessment”). The measure can be calculated on a quarterly or annual basis.