The Society for Vascular Surgery Patient Safety Organization® (SVS PSO) and the Society for Vascular Medicine (SVM), in collaboration with the American Heart Association® (Association), have introduced the Vascular Medicine Consult Registry for the Vascular Quality Initiative.
The Society for Vascular Surgery notes the Registry targets the management of new patients who are being treated medically for Atherosclerotic Carotid Artery Occlusive Disease, Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm, and Peripheral Lower Extremity Arterial Disease due to atherosclerosis or true aneurysm.
The VMC will emphasize medication details and dosages, risk factor and lifestyle modifications, non-operative treatments and counseling. The registry’s value centers on the comparative effectiveness of surgery versus medically managing patients with vascular diseases. Features include a web-based platform with real-time reporting.
Drs. Josh Beckman, Marc Bonaca and former Association president Dr. Mark Creager are among those members serving on the VMC Steering Committee to provide scientific expertise and oversight. The team has worked diligently to develop the VQI VMC.
“Vascular diseases are prevalent in the U.S. and other nations, often resulting in significantly higher rates of major adverse cardiovascular events including heart attack, stroke and death.” said John Meiners, chief of mission aligned businesses and healthcare solutions for the American Heart Association. “This collaboration will enable providers to identify the best treatments and medicines to improve quality of life and patient care.”
The American Heart Association, a global force for longer, healthier lives, has a longstanding commitment to improving systems of care through its quality improvement programs such as its flagship Get With The Guidelines® (GWTG) program, promoting consistent adherence to evidence-based guidelines in hospital and healthcare settings across the U.S. This team effort represents an opportunity to leverage the strengths of both organizations to improve care delivered to patients with vascular disease in the outpatient populations as well.
Drs. Randall DeMartino, and Michael R. Jaff of the SVS co-chair the VMC Steering Committee. “This new registry will allow us to compare the full spectrum of treatment options for patients with vascular disease in order to define the best treatment for each patient,” said Dr. DeMartino. Dr. Jaff noted that the new registry enables physicians to have a comprehensive view of a patients’ medical profile. “We can see if we have done enough to keep them healthy. We can understand in greater detail how cardiovascular risk factors are managed and how that impacts patient outcomes,” he said.
Utilizing the M2S PATHWAYS cloud-based platform, the new registry provides real-time tracking of patients and outcomes that can be used for quality improvement at a practitioner and institutional level. Outcomes can be evaluated against regional and national benchmarks. In addition, providers have access to a large database for local, regional and national analysis. The SVS VQI is organized as part of the Society for Vascular Surgery Patient Safety Organization (SVS PSO), which provides protection against discovery of comparative data in legal proceedings. Providers can submit outcome data in a secure environment, as the data will only be used for quality improvement and cannot be publicly reported. Regular audits help ensure data integrity and prevent selective reporting.
“We are extremely excited about the introduction of the Vascular Medicine Consult Registry,” said Jens Jorgensen, MD, Medical Director of the SVS VQI. “The effort and collaboration put into the VMC will provide a necessary platform for physicians to manage, analyze and improve outcomes for patients with peripheral arterial disease being treated with medical therapy. Data generated by the registry will directly support our goal of improving care for medically managed patients.”