AIM-LO (ASCVD Identification and Management of Lipid Lowering Therapy) is a medical practice assessment (MPA) initiative available to Canadian specialists including cardiologists and endocrinologists.
This MPA leverages data available in the Electronic Health Records (EHR) of participating physicians to identify patients at high risk of CV events who are not receiving guidelines-directed medical therapy for their dyslipidemia (based on the 2021 Canadian Cardiovascular Society Dyslipidemia Guidelines).
To execute this program, The CPD Network has partnered with EOCI and Ensho Health to analyze the EHRs of participating physicians.
Criteria for identification of high-risk patients have been defined by our Scientific Committee composed of lipid experts and guidelines authors.
Scientific Committee
(Click picture for bio)
The committee is responsible for the development, scientific integrity, and implementation of the program and includes:
Director, Oakville Cardiologists Inc.
Staff Cardiologist, Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital
Medical Director, Research, Halton Healthcare
Assistant Clinical Professor (Adjunct), McMaster University
Assistant Clinical Professor (Adjunct), University of Toronto
Disclosures
Medical Director, TotalCardiology Rehabilitation and Risk Reduction
Clinical Professor of Medicine, Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta, University of Calgary
Disclosures
Jacob J. Wolfe Distinguished Medical Research Chair in Human Gene Function
Martha G. Blackburn Chair in Cardiovascular Research
Director, London Regional Genomics Centre
Scientist, Molecular Medicine, Robarts Research Institute
Distinguished University Professor, Departments of Medicine (Division of Endocrinology) and Biochemistry, Western University
Disclosures
Professor of Medicine
Co-Director, Cardiac Transplant Clinic
Division of Cardiology
Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute
Chair, Health Research Ethics Board (HREB- Biomedical Panel)
University of Alberta
Disclosures
Heart Failure Clinic Medical Lead, St. Mary’s General Hospital
Clinical Professor (Adjunct), McMaster University
Disclosures
- Director, Oakville Cardiologists Inc.
- Staff Cardiologist, Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital
- Medical Director, Research, Halton Healthcare
- Assistant Clinical Professor (adj), McMaster University
- Assistant Clinical Professor (adj), University of Toronto
Oakville, ON
Biography
Dr. Heffernan is a staff cardiologist at the Oakville Trafalgar Hospital. He obtained his honours bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and Genetic Engineering from Mc Master University in 1987. He has a Doctorate in Medical Genetics from the University of Toronto and subsequently completed medical training, Internal Medicine and Cardiology at the University of Toronto. He is currently a Staff Cardiologist at Halton Healthcare and is also the Director of the Oakville Hospital’s Heart Function Clinic and the Medical Director of Research at Halton Healthcare. In addition, Dr. Heffernan is an Assistant Clinical Professor at McMaster University and the University of Toronto. Dr. Heffernan’s research activities have been widely published in academic and peer-reviewed journals including the New England Journal of Medicine.
- Clinical Professor of Medicine, Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta, University of Calgary
- Medical Director, TotalCardiology Rehabilitation and Risk Reduction
Calgary, AB
Biography
Dr. Aggarwal received his MD from the University of Toronto, where he then completed his residency in internal medicine. He completed his fellowship in cardiology at the University of Calgary and his echocardiography training at the University of Ottawa. He is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Calgary and the Medical Director of the TotalCardiology Rehabilitation program, which provides cardiac rehabilitation to over 1800 patients per year. He spearheaded an early access to cardiac rehabilitation as part of the STEMI project in Calgary. He is also the Cardiovascular Co-chair for the provincial implementation of a unified electronic medical record system for Alberta Health Services. His research interests are mainly in cardiac rehabilitation as the Medical Director of the TCRN (TotalCardiology Research Network).
- Jacob J. Wolfe Distinguished Medical Research Chair in Human Gene Function
- Martha G. Blackburn Chair in Cardiovascular Research
- Director, London Regional Genomics Centre
- Scientist, Molecular Medicine, Robarts Research Institute
- Distinguished University Professor, Departments of Medicine (Division of Endocrinology) and
Biochemistry, Western University
Biography
Dr. Hegele is the Jacob J. Wolfe Distinguished Medical Research Chair in Human Gene Function and the Martha G. Blackburn Chair in Cardiovascular Research. He is also the Director of the London Regional Genomics Centre and a Scientist in Molecular Medicine at the Robarts Research Institute. Dr. Hegele is a Distinguished University Professor in the Departments of Medicine (Division of Endocrinology) and Biochemistry at Western University. Dr. Hegele is recognized for his research in the genetics of lipoprotein metabolism and its relationship to cardiovascular disease. He is a Fellow of several academies, including the American College of Physicians, the American Heart Association, and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. Dr. Hegele's contributions to medical research have been widely recognized, and he has received numerous awards for his work in the field of cardiovascular genetics.
- Professor of Medicine
- Co-Director, Cardiac Transplant Clinic
- Division of Cardiology
- Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute
- Chair, Health Research Ethics Board (HREB- Biomedical Panel)
- University of Alberta
Biography
Dr. Pearson is an experienced cardiovascular pharmacotherapy practitioner who specializes in treating patients with cardiac and cardiac transplant conditions at the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute as part of a collaborative care team. He is involved in several leadership roles such as co-director of the Cardiac Transplant Clinic and associate chair of the Trainee Research Access Committee for the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry. Dr. Pearson is an active member of several organizations, including the Canadian Cardiology Pharmacists Network and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society. He has served as a primary panel member for the CCS Canadian Dyslipidemia Guidelines since 2009 and as the Chair for the 2021 CCS Dyslipidemia Guidelines update. In addition, he has contributed to the CCS Position Statement on Familial Hypercholesterolemia (FH) and the Canadian Working Group for the Diagnosis, Prevention, and Management of Statin Adverse Effects and Intolerance. Dr. Pearson has received numerous awards and recognitions, including fellowship status in both the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society, and the M.J. Houston Pharmacist of the Year Award from Alberta College of Pharmacists and the Alberta Pharmacists’ Association in 2008.
- Heart Failure Clinic Medical Lead, St. Mary’s General Hospital
- McMaster University, Clinical Professor (Adjunct)
Kitchener, ON
Biography
Dr. Yip is an adult cardiologist and is the Medical Lead in the Heart Function Clinic at St. Mary’s General Hospital in Kitchener Waterloo. She is also an Adjuvant Clinical Professor affiliated with McMaster University. She did her medicine training at the University of Western Ontario, cardiology training at the University of British Columbia and then completed a fellowship in Advanced Heart Failure, Transplantation and Mechanical Circulatory Support at Ottawa Heart Institute, University of Ottawa.
Her current practice includes a mixture of general cardiology as well as advanced heart failure patients who require community liaison to allow for care closer to home. She continues to establish close collaborations with other cardiac centres in the province and performs invasive hemodynamics and cardiac biopsies locally when needed. Recognizing innovation, she is also an active participant in research as the local site lead for multi-centre studies as well as a co-investigator in studies involving local university groups.
About AIM-LO
AIM-LO has been designed to address the gaps between knowledge and practice when it comes to dyslipidemia management. While most cardiologists know and understand the recommendations from the 2021 Canadian Cardiovascular Society Dyslipidemia Guidelines, it is challenging to apply these into clinical practice for a variety of reasons.
Evidence generated over the past decade has established that significantly reducing LDL-C levels leads to plaque regression and lowers the risk of cardiovascular events. Intensively managing dyslipidemia improves outcomes, extends survival, and reduces hospitalizations.
The opportunity for quality improvement (QI) of the care of high-risk patients is considerable and is the focus of this MPA. Sign up to identify patients with dyslipidemia who require treatment optimization as per the 2021 Canadian Cardiovascular Society Dyslipidemia Guidelines!
Analyses & Reports
Participant data is analyzed by Ensho Health. The Operations Team of Ensho analyzes the EHRs of participants with optical character recognition, natural language processing and other methods to identify and characterize the lipid lowering treatments of patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD).
See criteria used for patient identification in the FAQ section
Participants are provided with a report after each analysis identifying patients eligible for initiation or intensification of lipid lowering therapy according to the 2021 Canadian Cardiovascular Society Dyslipidemia Guidelines. Reports are available to clinic administrators in the Ensho Health web application and sent directly to physicians via fax, as well as email (if requested). Each participant is also provided with their rate of guideline adherence in the previous three months. Check out the FAQ section for further details.
Data Collection
Ensho processes information using their Apollo automated electronic data capture (aEDC) system.
Optical Character Recognition
Apollo reads and extracts data from all document types including encounter notes, PDF documents, image files and hand-written notes. Each record is converted to machine readable data before it is analyzed so relevant information is never missed.
Natural Language Processing
Specialty-specific extractors analyze data from problem lists, encounter notes, discharge summaries and other unstructured document types (including your short-form).
The data necessary to calculate the primary endpoint will be extracted by Ensho Health. De-identified summary statistics will be provided to the Scientific Committee only.
See also: Privacy and Compliance
Financial Disclosure
Novartis Canada is providing financial support to the CPD-Network for this initiative, but neither the program sponsor, the scientific committee, the program organizer, or anyone else will have access to your individual patient-level data. By electing to participate in AIM-LO, you agree that an aggregate and anonymized report summarizing the findings can be shared with the scientific committee and EOCI.
The primary endpoint is the change in the proportion of patients on guideline-directed medical therapy for lipid management three, six, nine and 12 months after enrollment compared with the 12 months prior to enrollment. The primary endpoint will be reported for each participant and all participants as a whole and may be reported separately for specific risk classes defined by the Scientific Committee.
