Coronary heart disease registers do not improve clinical outcomes

Although coronary heart disease registers in primary care increase follow up and assessment of patients at risk, they do not improve clinical outcome or prescription rates of recommended drugs. In addition, follow up by nurses may be more effective than follow up by doctors. Moher et al (p 1338) used a cluster randomised controlled trial involving 21 general practices and 1906 patients, and they recommend that we need to understand why improved assessment does not necessarily translate into better care or clinical outcome and what to do about it before the quality of care for this patient group can be improved.

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Relevant Article

Cluster randomised controlled trial to compare three methods of promoting secondary prevention of coronary heart disease in primary care

Michael Moher, Patricia Yudkin, Lucy Wright, Rebecca Turner, Alice Fuller, Theo Schofield, and David Mant
BMJ 2001 322: 1338. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]