Lipid Testing Trends in the US Before and After the Release of the 2013 Cholesterol Treatment Guidelines.

Challenge

The 2013 ACC/AHA cholesterol treatment guidelines represented a major paradigm shift in lipid management, but whether they were associated with changes in real-world lipid testing patterns in US clinical practice had not been characterized at scale.

Solution

Target RWE researchers analyzed US administrative claims data to describe lipid testing trends before and after the 2013 guideline release, characterizing uptake patterns by patient demographics, geographic region, and provider type.

Impact

Documenting real-world lipid testing responses to major guideline changes provides evidence of guideline impact and gaps relevant to cardiovascular drug development partners.