“Too often in healthcare, we know what works—but we struggle to make it happen at scale,” said Dr. Laney Jones, Implementation Science Medical Director on the U.S. Cardiovascular Team at Amgen. “There’s a disconnect between evidence and action, and patients deserve better.”
This is where implementation science comes in.
Implementation science examines barriers to adopting data-backed approaches, strategies to overcome those barriers and ways to improve uptake and range. It focuses on the development of tools, resources and methods that promote the successful implementation of research findings into routine care and everyday healthcare practices—with a goal of enhancing patient care quality, effectiveness, speed and access.
In the cardiovascular space, one group stands out as a leader highlighting the importance of implementation science—the Leading Awareness to Action Through Implementation of Cardiometabolic Efforts (LATTICE™) Consortium. The LATTICE™ Consortium is a first-of-its-kind network of experts working to improve the treatment of cardiovascular disease at scale through evidence-based efforts.*
“Through the LATTICE™ Consortium, we’re challenging the status quo in cardiovascular management and paving the way for patients to achieve better outcomes. Our goal is to educate and empower healthcare providers and turn science into real-world impact for patients,” said Dr. Jones.
Turning Evidence into Action
Historically, it takes 17 years from evidence generation to implementation, and only 1 in 5 interventions make it to routine clinical care. Even among innovations that are eventually adopted, sustained use over time is rare without intentional implementation strategies.1,2
This is why the LATTICE™ Consortium aims to demonstrate how implementation science can make a difference. Its goal is to highlight approaches that have the potential to close the gap between discovery and adoption—from showcasing projects that enhance cardiometabolic care, to sharing lessons learned and tested tools with health systems. LATTICE™ Consortium experts also work to empower patients to take an active role in their personal care journeys.
Since 2023, the group has made significant strides in transforming the heart health care landscape by supporting various initiatives:
- Involving 35,400+ clinicians
- Engaging in 13 collaborative projects
- Testing 35 novel implementation strategies
- Reaching 45 integrated delivery networks
- Reaching more than 8,100 institutions
Most critically, it has helped reach millions of patients and is working to lay the foundation for meaningful, system-wide change.
“What makes me most proud is how the LATTICE™ Consortium has brought together dedicated experts from across disciplines—cardiology, primary care, pharmacy, nursing, and more—to help reimagine cardiovascular care,” said Dr. Andrew Sauer, executive director of the Cardiometabolic Center Alliance at Saint Luke’s Health System. “We’re not just talking about solutions—we’re sharing best practices that could have a real impact.”
Featured LATTICE™ projects include:
- Driving Urgency to Treat LDL-C: A large-scale quality implementation initiative guided by an independent American College of Cardiology (ACC) physician project committee focused on building LDL-C testing and treatment awareness-to-action at the point of care.
- Cardiometabolic Heath Alliance (CHA) Test to Treat: Aims to improve the testing and management of LDL-C after a patient experiences an acute cardiac event with the CHA.
- Cardiometabolic Center Alliance (CMCA) Project: Evaluates the effectiveness of a holistic, patient-centered coordinated team approach to cardiometabolic disease and care improvement.
- Presentations at the National Lipid Association 2025 Annual Scientific Sessions and other major cardiovascular meetings.
The LATTICE™ Consortium not only underscores tools and resources for healthcare providers, patients and caregivers, but it also shares best practices across organizations. Through the experts’ collective experience, the group aims to elevate the standard of cardiometabolic care throughout the healthcare landscape.
“This is truly a team effort—we work together and align our efforts around what matters most: patients. What I find most valuable about being part of this group is the opportunity to collaborate with a diverse, like-minded team from various disciplines, all committed to advancing the best science,” said Dr. Nishant Shah, preventive cardiologist at Duke University and clinical investigator at the Duke Research Institute.
In the following video, LATTICE™ Consortium experts Drs. Jones, Shah and Sauer share what excites them most about current efforts and discuss what’s next for the organization.
Amgen is committed to advancing cardiovascular care through implementation science, supporting the LATTICE™ Consortium since its launch. By building upon proven strategies and boldly exploring innovative approaches, Amgen aims to close persistent gaps, foster local collaboration, and drive meaningful improvements in patient outcomes.
To learn more about the LATTICE™ Consortium, please visit LATTICEConsortium.com.
*The LATTICE™ Consortium aims to help improve patient care beginning with education for both patients and healthcare professionals around the cardiovascular disease state area, highlighting the importance of diagnosis and advocating for treating patients to guidelines, agnostic of any specific branded product.
References
- Morris ZS, Wooding S, Grant J. The answer is 17 years, what is the question: understanding time lags in translational research. J R Soc Med. 2011 Dec;104(12):510-20. doi: 10.1258/jrsm.2011.110180. PMID: 22179294; PMCID: PMC3241518.
- Kowalski, C. P., Kawentel, L. M., Kyriakides, T. C., Davis, L., Bowersox, N. W., Kilbourne, A. M., Huang, G. D., & Nevedal, A. L. (2022). Facilitating future implementation and translation to clinical practice: The Implementation Planning Assessment Tool for clinical trials. Journal of clinical and translational science, 6(1), e131. https://doi.org/10.1017/cts.2022.467
