Advancement of the implementation of evidence-based therapies for cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic conditions: A multi-stakeholder perspective

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of mortality and healthcare expenditures in the United States. It is also a major contributor to premature mortality, years lived with disability, and rising healthcare costs around the world. Despite the availability of proven therapies and interventions that could vastly decrease the burden of cardiovascular disease and cardiometabolic conditions, their implementation is poor, with generally less than half of patients being treated with the most effective therapies. Implementation science offers promise in bridging this gap and mitigating disparities. However, even though small studies have shown that there are effective methods to improve the implementation of evidence-based therapies, these methods have not been scaled to make an impact at the level of health systems or nationally. A coordinated, multi-stakeholder approach is essential to identify barriers to implementation on a broad scale and, more critically, to develop and deploy practical solutions. The Duke Clinical Research Institute conducted an Implementation Summit entitled “Scalability, Spread, and Sustainability” to explore strategies for advancing the uptake of evidence-based interventions for cardiometabolic diseases in healthcare in the United States. This manuscript presents the participants’ multi-stakeholder perspective on the steps necessary to improve the implementation of evidence-based therapies in cardiometabolic disease. Key recommendations include focused efforts on evidence generation around broad implementation strategies, dissemination of the evidence generated, uptake of evidence into usual care settings, and investment in training the current and next generations of leaders in implementation.