The American College of Cardiology's burgeoning stable of registries will likely include one to collect outpatient data by late this year or early next year, according to the organization.
Ten years ago, the ACC launched the National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR). It has subsequently launched the CathPCI Registry, the ICD Registry, and, just last year, the CARE (Carotid Artery Revascularization and Endarterectomy) Registry, all of which are centered on hospital-based procedures.
Clearly, outpatient data represent both a gap and an opportunity, Dr. Ralph Brindis, chief medical officer for the NCDR, said in an interview. “As we've developed an increasing portfolio, there's been a lot of interest among cardiologists and payers, and interest from the American Board of Internal Medicine, in how we can actually assess quality in the outpatient arena,” he continued.
Pharmaceutical manufacturers are also interested in outpatient registries to help assess long-term safety and efficacy of medications, he said.
The outpatient effort, tentatively dubbed IC3 (Improving Continuity in Cardiac Care), is in the beginning stages, with protocols, data collection tools, and reports being developed. After securing industry funding for the launch, the registry will be piloted at 100–150 physician offices across the United States next summer, Dr. Brindis said. Within a year, ACC hopes to have 400 offices enrolled and perhaps more than 1,000 in 2–3 years.
Initially, the focus will be on patients who are post discharge for acute coronary syndrome. Physicians will be asked to submit data on meeting performance goals related to prescribing evidence-based therapies such as aspirin, β-blockers, and ACE inhibitors, and how well patients and physicians do in meeting cholesterol goals.
Over time, measures will likely expand to meeting benchmarks for hypertension and heart failure treatment, and perhaps appropriateness of imaging studies, Dr. Brindis said. Eventually, the registry might be used to help physicians meet reporting needs and maintain certification through the ABIM, he said.
The registry would be voluntary. Dr. Brindis said there would be some effort to make it manageable for practices that aren't heavily invested in health information technology.
Also, Dr. Brindis said, the ACC might initially provide payments to the pilot participants, but, he added, “In the long run, hopefully, there would be so much added value that we wouldn't pay them to participate.”