AMGA Foundation Launches New Initiative to Improve the Care of Patients with ASCVD

Alexandria, VA – AMGA Foundation, with support from Novartis and Amgen, will launch a 15-month initiative focused on helping medical groups develop strategies to improve the management and treatment of patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD).

The initiative, known as the “ASCVD Best Practices Learning Collaborative,” is designed to provide a platform for participating organizations to improve their clinical performance in the treatment of ASCVD through the development and implementation of quality improvement projects, best practice sharing, and peer-to-peer learning.

“ASCVD is a manageable disease when patients adhere to a medication treatment plan that is consistent with evidence-based guidelines. However, as many as 50 percent of patients who are prescribed medication to treat a chronic condition report non-adherence,” said John Kennedy, M.D., AMGA Foundation president and AMGA chief medical officer. “The Collaborative will address medication adherence and other strategies to improve the long-term health of patient populations with ASCVD. Importantly, we’ll share the learnings so that more medical groups are aware of the best practices identified by the Collaborative participants.”  

The following medical groups and health systems were selected to participate in the collaborative:

• Bandera Family Medical Group
• Baptist Medical Group
• Baylor Scott & White Health
• Coastal Carolina Health Care, P.A.
• Cooper University Health Care
• Hattiesburg Clinic 
• Ochsner Health
• Premier Medical Associates
• Prevea Health 
• PriMed Physicians
• Privia Medical Group, North Texas
• Quincy Medical Group
• SIMEDHealth
• Southwest Medical, Part of Optum
• UC San Diego Health

Participating organizations will have access to a National Advisory Committee, a panel of subject matter and clinical experts who will guide participants on developing objectives and educational content.

"Novartis is proud to support the AMGA Foundation and participating organizations’ efforts to improve patient care and long-term outcomes in ASCVD – a major contributor to cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the U.S.," said David Platt, MD, VP, Medical Head, Cardiovascular & Metabolism, Novartis Innovative Medicines US. "With up to 80 percent of ASCVD patients not at their recommended LDL-C targets despite statins, population health approaches such as this one, which focuses on improving lipid lowering treatment management and adherence, can make a meaningful and sustainable impact." 

“Cardiovascular disease is a leading public health issue in the U.S., currently affecting approximately 82.6 million Americans,” said Jyothis George, VP, Global Medical Therapeutic Area Head, Cardiovascular and Metabolic at Amgen. “As we know, lowering LDL-C, or ‘bad’ cholesterol, is a key modifiable risk factor and there have been decades of scientific advancements in the development of lipid-lowering treatments. However, ensuring medication adherence continues to be a challenge. This is why we are proud to be a part of this important collaboration with AMGA to improve healthcare for millions of people living with ASCVD.” 

The Collaborative will officially begin in September 2022.

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About AMGA Foundation

AMGA Foundation is AMGA’s philanthropic arm that enables medical groups and other organized systems of care to consistently improve health and health care. AMGA Foundation serves as a catalyst, connector, and collaborator for translating the evidence of what works best in improving health and health care in everyday practice. Learn more at amga.org/foundation.

About AMGA

AMGA is a trade association leading the transformation of healthcare in America. Representing multispecialty medical groups and integrated systems of care, we advocate, educate, innovate, and empower our members to deliver the next level of high performance health. AMGA is the national voice promoting awareness of our members’ recognized excellence in the delivery of coordinated, high-quality, high-value care. More than 175,000 physicians practice in our member organizations, delivering care to one in three Americans. 

AMGA represents medical groups and integrated systems of care. Its diverse membership includes multispecialty medical groups, integrated delivery systems, accountable care organizations, and other entities committed to improving healthcare outcomes. AMGA advocates for the formation of innovative, clinically integrated systems of care that advance population health, enhance patient experience, and reduce healthcare costs. For more information, please visit www.amga.org.