New US registry planned for spectrum of neurovascular conditions

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The Society of Neurointerventional Surgery (SNIS) will host a new national registry, entitled the Neurovascular Quality Initiative (NVQI), which will make it possible to measure performance and outcome data across a spectrum of neurovascular conditions, including stroke and aneurysms.

The registry, announced at the SNIS 10th Annual Meeting in Miami, USA, will launch in autumn of 2013.

The initiative marks a crucial milestone for the field of neurointervention. “The need to document the impact of our treatments on patient outcomes and care is at a pivotal point,” says Michael Alexander, professor and vice chairman, director, Neurovascular Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and president of SNIS. “NVQI offers practitioners and hospitals a quality tool that allows us, individually and collectively, to better analyse the multiple connections between what we do in the operating room and the end result for the patient. This data is critical to helping us to understand what works well and where we need to improve.”

Designed to track procedures, complications, and outcomes, for up to one year or longer, for patients treated by surgery, endovascular therapy, or medical management, the registry allows users to access in real time not only their own hospital data, but also comparison data for their region as well as the national mean. Initially, hospitals can use the multi-module registry to track their performance in the treatment of cerebral aneurysms, acute ischaemic stroke, carotid artery disease, cerebral arteriovenous malformations, intracranial atherosclerotic disease, diagnostic angiograms and vasospasm. Modules for other conditions may be added in the near future.

According to Alexander, in addition to its role in helping to promote and maintain the highest standards of excellence in patient care, NVQI will also address a significant trend in the current healthcare environment. As insurers are adding quality patient outcomes into the mix of criteria for reimbursement decisions, it is becoming more incumbent upon hospitals and physicians to demonstrate their success. Whereas institutions everywhere are developing their own home-grown databases and metrics to fulfill this need, NVQI can alleviate the time and resources invested in such an effort by providing one comprehensive framework that facilitates consistent tracking and streamlining of all necessary data pertaining to neurovascular treatment. 

Designed for maximum ease of use, NVQI can accommodate multiple users, allowing physicians and other qualified staff to enter key data points. For convenience, significant portions of the data entry can be facilitated via drop-down menus which require simply clicking on the applicable common variable or numeric value from the choices offered. Additionally, registry users can enter data via a tablet with Internet access or laptop on site as the patient is proceeding through treatment, or at a later time of their choosing.

“As we launch this exciting new initiative, SNIS will not only provide a way for hospitals and physicians across the nation to demonstrate their commitment to quality patient care,” said Alexander, “but we will also take bold steps to facilitate a level of analysis of our procedures, processes and outcomes that can only serve to advance neurointerventional practice,” he added.