Cardiovascular Health Indicator
Measure: Optimal Vascular Care

Analysis

Table 1 shows performance for the Optimal Vascular Care measure overall plus the individual care goals that constitute the measure from 2015 through 2020. For each of the last three years, both the overall measure and aspirin component have trended down significantly. Both the blood pressure and tobacco free components trended down between 2016 and 2017. However, this most recent year showed a historic decline in performance on this measure, due largely to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall performance dropped by 6.5 percentage points, driven largely by large declines in blood pressure control (-6.9 percentage points) and appropriate aspirin use (-2.9 percentage points). MDH recommends consulting the 2020 Optimal Vascular Care Issue Brief and the individual annual reports from Minnesota Community Measurement listed in the Other Resources tab for more information on comparing performance from year to year.

Table 1: Optimal Vascular Care Measure and Individual Care Goal Performance among Minnesota Adults with Ischemic Vascular Disease, 2015-2020

In 2020, the percentage of adults with ischemic vascular disease who achieve all Optimal Vascular Care goals is much lower among African American/African Born, American Indian, and multi-racial Minnesotans than the statewide average. Asian Minnesotans are significantly more likely to achieve all Optimal Vascular Care goals than the statewide average. These disparities are shown in Table 2. These differences between race groups have persisted since 2014 when these data were first reported. Unlike previous years, Latinx/Hispanic Minnesotans, who can be of any race, were just as likely to meet all Optimal Vascular Care goals as the statewide average. Details on changes in performance by race and ethnicity from 2019 to 2020 can be found in the 2020 Optimal Vascular Care Issue Brief listed in the Other Resources tab.

Table 2: Optimal Vascular Care Goals among Minnesota Adults with Ischemic Vascular Disease by Race, 2020

Adults with ischemic vascular disease who have Medicare or commercial insurance are most likely to achieve all of the Optimal Vascular Care goals, performing 11 to 16 percentage points better than those on Minnesota Health Care programs. Uninsured patients are the least likely to meet Optimal Vascular Care goals, 6 percentage points lower than Minnesota Health Care program beneficiaries. These differences are shown in Table 3 below. Again, details on changes in performance by type of insurance from 2019 to 2020 can be found in the 2020 Optimal Vascular Care Issue Brief listed in the Other Resources tab.

Table 3: Optimal Vascular Care Goals among Minnesota Adults with Ischemic Vascular Disease by Insurance Status, 2020

Other Resources

• Minnesota Health Care Chartbook Section 9: Statewide Quality Reporting and Measurement System (PDF)
  Produced by the Minnesota Department of Health Health Economics Program, this section of the Health Care Markets Chartbook provides an overview of summary results for selected physician clinic and hospital quality measures, including Optimal Vascular Care. It includes trends over time, stratified results by health insurance product, and measure specifications.


• Minnesota Community Measurement’s 2020 Issue Brief on Optimal Vascular Care (PDF)
  A report from Minnesota Community Measurement taking a deeper look at the Optimal Vascular Measure, focused on changes from 2019 to 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.


• Minnesota Community Measurement's Annual Community Reports(PDF)
  • The Health Care Quality Report has been produced since 2004 and features statewide, medical group, and clinic level performance on a number of clinical quality measures, including Optimal Vascular Care.
  • The Disparities by Race, Hispanic Ethnicity, Preferred Language, and Country of Origin (RELC) Report (previously called the Health Equity of Care Report) has been produced since 2014 and highlights differences by race, Hispanic ethnicity, preferred language, and country of origin at the state and regional levels for a number of clinical quality measures, including Optimal Vascular Care.
  • The Health Care Disparities by Insurance Type (previously called the Health Care Disparities Report) has been produced since 2007 and highlights differences by insurance type (Commercial Insurance, Medicare, Minnesota Health Care Programs, and Uninsured or Self-Pay) for a number of clinical quality measures, including Optimal Vascular Care.
  • The Quality of Care for Chronic Conditions in Minnesota Report has been produced since 2018 and provides a more focused look at differences in clinical quality measures beyond those shown in the previous three Minnesota Community Measurement reports. These include differences by geographic location, age group, and sex.

Data Source

The data are collected by Minnesota Community Measurement, and were previously included in the Minnesota Statewide Quality Reporting and Measurement System (Quality Reporting System) at the Minnesota Department of Health for dates of service between January 1 - December 31 of the listed year. Minnesota Community Measurement receives data from all clinics in Minnesota.

Measure Definition

Adults included in this measure:

• Are 18-75 years of age with a diagnosis of ischemic vascular disease
• Have seen a provider in the last year for any reason