Barriers and Facilitators to Heart Failure Guideline-Directed Medical Therapy in an Integrated Health System and Federally Qualified Health Centers: A Thematic Qualitative Analysis

Background

Clinical guidelines recommend medications from four drug classes, collectively referred to as quadruple therapy, to improve outcomes for patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Wide gaps in uptake of these therapies persist across a range of settings. In this qualitative study, we identified determinants (i.e., barriers and facilitators) of quadruple therapy intensification, defined as prescribing a new class or increasing the dose of a currently prescribed medication.

Methods

We conducted interviews with physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and pharmacists working in primary care or cardiology settings in an integrated health system or federally qualified health centers (FQHCs). We report results with a conceptual model integrating two frameworks: (1) the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), which explains how personal attitudes, perception of others’ attitudes, and perceived behavioral control influence intentions and behaviors; and (2) the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) 2.0 to understand how multi-level factors influence attitudes toward and intention to use quadruple therapy.

Results

Thirty-one clinicians, including 18 (58%) primary care and 13 (42%) cardiology clinicians, participated in the interviews. Eight (26%) participants were from FQHCs. A common facilitator in both settings was the belief in the importance of quadruple therapy. Common barriers included challenges presented by patient frailty, clinical inertia, and time constraints. In FQHCs, primary care comfort and ownership enhanced the intensification of quadruple therapy while limited access to and communication with cardiology specialists presented a barrier. Results are presented using a combined TPB-CFIR framework to help illustrate the potential impact of contextual factors on individual-level behaviors.

Conclusions

Determinants of quadruple therapy intensification vary by clinician specialty and care setting. Future research should explore implementation strategies that address these determinants by specialty and setting to promote health equity.