South Carolina
Representing: Researchers
Dr. Brent Egan has a long-term commitment to quality improvement in primary care with emphasis on cardiovascular health promotion and health equity. In 1999, he started a statewide primary care network in South Carolina, the Hypertension Initiative, to improve the management of hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes mellitus. The initiative focused on promoting evidence-based health care and healthy lifestyles using low-cost, effective, highly scalable tactics. As the network grew and practices had growing responsibilities for delivering high-quality care across the lifespan, the Hypertension Initiative became the Outpatient Quality Improvement Network (OQUIN) in 2006. Cardiovascular risk factor control improved dramatically across the state, and South Carolina improved from 50th in cardiovascular deaths among states in the United States in the 1990s to 33rd by 2011. In 2013, OQUIN became a key building block of the Care Coordination Institute (CCI), which continues to support clinics and integrated care systems in quality improvement, care coordination, care transitions and strategic planning as they move from fee- to value-based health care.
Dr. Egan serves as Chief Science Officer for the Care Coordination Institute. The CCI has quality improvement and research relationships with more than 900 clinical sites across South Carolina, which include integrated healthcare systems. Quality improvement programs encompass the lifespan and continuum of care. Dr. Egan’s efforts have been supported by more than 50 extramural grants and have led to approximately 300 publications, largely focused on cardiovascular and metabolic health. He has been active in the International Society on Hypertension in Blacks (ISHIB), where he serves as President as well as the American Society of Hypertension, where he served as Vice-President and President of the ASH Hypertension Specialist Program. His collaborative efforts on cardiometabolic health promotion and disease prevention include church- and community-based programs, which led to the development of Lighten Up and DASH for Good Health Southern Style.