Project #10

Concern raised by the national clinical director of cardiovascular disease (CVD) about inequalities in the prevalence of CVD. The purpose for requesting GP record data in OpenSAFELY is to monitor service use for CVD pathways, blood pressure tests taken, corresponding reading, and medical prescription across geographical deprivation and ethnic groups. These metrics will serve as potential indicators for access and outcomes (for people of different ethnicities/people living in areas with different levels of deprivation) in CVD related primary care activity. We will particularly be monitoring the variations in these indicators that occurred over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic and assessing the relative success or failure in recovering primary care services.

Aims

• To better understand and be able to interpret disparities in access and outcomes related to CVD to narrow health inequalities in this area.
• To use CVD and this analysis as a test case in the processes necessary for developing primary care recovery of services indicators with OpenSAFELY