Quality and Access to Care for Cardiovascular Disease Prevalence in Women Veterans: Population Estimate Using Electronic Health Records

Electronic Health Records are used to measure quality indicators for cardiovascular disease (CVD), but have not been tested for sensitivity and specificity. Computerized Patient Record System (CPRS) used by the Veterans Health Affairs (VHA), has active CVD clinical reminders from Healthcare Effectiveness Data & Information Set (HEDIS) that are compared nationally. San Bernardino County, CA has a 7.8% prevalence of self-reported CVD in both genders. For HEDIS measures, there is only a 4 point CVD composite score gender difference for VHA nationally, but at the Loma Linda VHA there is an 18 point gender difference (2016). Women Veterans (WV) are known to have high rates of CVD risk factors, e.g., tobacco use and post traumatic stress disorder, putting them potentially at higher risk for CVD than non-veteran women. We completed the 1st quality improvement chart review of CVD diagnoses in all WV at the Veterans Affairs Loma Linda Healthcare System for HEDIS quality measures.