Indicadores de calidad en cardiología. Principales indicadores para medir la calidad de los resultados (indicadores de resultados) y parámetros de calidad relacionados con mejores resultados en la práctica clínica (indicadores de práctica asistencial). INCARDIO (Indicadores de Calidad en Unidades Asistenciales del Área del Corazón): Declaración de posicionamiento de consenso de SEC/SECTCV

Trends in cardiovascular care in the National Health System in Spain. Data from the RECALCAR project 2011-2020

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES

The RECALCAR project (Resources and Quality in Cardiology), an initiative of the Spanish Society of Cardiology, aims to standardize information to generate evidence on cardiovascular health outcomes. The objective of this study was to analyze trends in the resources and activity of cardiology units and/or services and to identify the results of cardiovascular care during the last decade in Spain.

METHODS

The study was based on the 2 annual data sources of the RECALCAR project: a survey on resources and activity of cardiology units and/or services (2011-2020) and the minimum data set of the National Health System (2011-2019), referring to heart failure (HF), STEMI, and non-STEMI.

RESULTS

The survey included 70% of cardiology units and/or services in Spain. The number of hospital beds and length of stay decreased, while there was a notable increase in the number of cardiac imaging studies and percutaneous therapeutic procedures performed. Age- and sex-adjusted admissions for HF tended to decrease, despite an increase in mortality and the percentage of readmissions. In contrast, the trend in mortality and readmissions was highly favorable in STEMI; in non-STEMI, although positive, the trend was less marked.

CONCLUSIONS

The information provided by the RECALCAR project shows a favorable trend in the last decade in resources, activity and results of certain cardiovascular processes and constitutes an essential source for future improvements and decision-making in health policy.

Risk-Adjusted Overall Mortality as a Quality Measure in the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit

Risk-adjusted mortality has been proposed as a quality of care indicator to gauge cardiovascular intensive care Unit (CICU) performance. Mortality is easily measured, readily understandable, and a meaningful outcome for the patient, provider, administrative agencies, and other key stakeholders. Disease-specific risk-adjusted mortality is commonly used in cardiovascular medicine as an indicator of care quality, for external accreditation, and to determine payer reimbursement. However, the evidence base for overall risk-adjusted mortality in the CICU is limited, with most available data coming from the general critical care literature. In addition, existing risk-adjusted mortality models vary considerably in terms of approach and composition, and there is no nationally recognized standard. Thus, the objective of this study was to review the use of risk-adjusted mortality as a measure of overall unit performance and quality of care in the CICU. We found a considerable variability in the risk-adjustment methodology for cardiovascular disease. Although predictive models for disease-specific risk-adjusted mortality in cardiovascular disease have been developed, there are limited published data on overall risk-adjusted mortality for the CICU. Without standardization of risk-adjustment methodology, researchers are often required to use existing risk-adjustment models developed in noncardiac patient populations. Further studies are needed to establish whether risk-adjusted overall CICU mortality is a valid performance measure and whether it reflects care quality.

Quality of Care and 30-day Mortality of Women and Men With Acute Myocardial Infarction

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES

Despite increased awareness of sex disparities in care and outcomes of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), there appears to have been no consistent attenuation of these differences over the last decade. We investigated differences by sex in management and 30-day mortality using the European Society of Cardiology Acute Cardiovascular Care Association quality indicators (QIs) for AMI.

METHODS

Proportions and standard errors of the 20 Acute Cardiovascular Care Association QIs were calculated for 771 patients with AMI who were admitted to the cardiology departments of 2 tertiary hospitals in Portugal between August 2013 and December 2014. The association between the composite QI and 30-day mortality was derived from logistic regression.

RESULTS

Significantly fewer eligible women than men received timely reperfusion, were discharged on dual antiplatelet therapy and high-intensity statins, and were referred to cardiac rehabilitation. Women were less likely to receive recommended interventions (59.6% vs 65.2%; P <.001) and also had higher mean GRACE 2.0 risk score-adjusted 30-day mortality (3.0% vs 1.7%; P <.001). An inverse association between the composite QI and crude 30-day mortality was observed for both sexes (OR, 0.08; 95%CI, 0.01-0.64 for the highest performance tertile vs the lowest).

CONCLUSIONS

Performance in AMI management is worse for women than men and is associated with higher 30-day mortality, which is also worse for women. Evidence-based QIs have the potential to improve health care delivery and patient prognosis in the overall AMI population and may also bridge the disparity gap between women and men.

Systematic review and directors survey of quality indicators for the cardiovascular intensive care unit

BACKGROUND

Quality indicators (QIs) are increasingly used in cardiovascular care as measures of performance but there is currently no consensus on indicators for the cardiovascular intensive care unit (CICU).

METHODS

We searched Medline, CINAHL, EMBASE, and COCHRANE databases from inception until October 2016 and websites for organizations involved in quality measurement for QIs relevant to cardiovascular disease in an intensive or critical care setting. We surveyed 14 expert cardiac intensivist-administrators (7 European; 7 North American) on the importance and relevance of each indicator as a measure of CICU care quality using a scale of 1 (=lowest) to 10 (=highest). Indicators with a mean score ≥8/10 for both importance and relevance were included in the final set.

RESULTS

Overall, 108 QIs (70 process, 18 structural, 18 outcome, 1 patient engagement, and 1 covering multiple domains) were identified in 30 articles representing 23 agencies, organizations, and societies. Disease-specific QIs included myocardial infarction (n = 37), heart failure (n = 31), atrial fibrillation (n = 11), and cardiac rehabilitation (n = 1); general QIs represented about one-quarter (n = 28) of all measures. Fifteen QIs were selected for the final QI set: 7 process, 2 structural, and 6 outcome measures, including 6 general and 9 disease-specific measures. Outcome measures chosen to evaluate general CICU performance included overall CICU mortality, length of stay, and readmission rate.

CONCLUSIONS

Numerous QIs relevant to the CICU have been recommended by a variety of organizations. The indicators chosen by the cardiac intensivist-administrators could serve as a basis for future efforts to develop a standardized set of quality measures for the CICU.

The RECALCAR Project. Healthcare in the Cardiology Units of the Spanish National Health System, 2011 to 2014

The RECALCAR project (Spanish acronym for Resources and Quality in Cardiology Units) uses 2 data sources: a survey of cardiology units and an analysis of the Minimum Basic Data set of all hospital discharges of the Spanish National Health System. From 2011 to 2014, there was marked stability in all indicators of the availability, utilization, and productivity of cardiology units. There was significant variability between units and between the health services of the autonomous communities. There was poor implementation of process management (only 14% of the units) and scarce development of health care networks (17%). Structured cardiology units tended to have better results, in terms of both quality and efficiency. No significant differences were found between the different types of unit in the mean length of stay (5.5±1.1 days) or the ratio between successive and first consultations (2:1). The mean discharge rate was 5/1000 inhabitants/y and the mean rate of initial consultations was 16±4/1000 inhabitants/y. No duty or on-call cardiologist was available in 30% of cardiology units with 24 or more beds; of these, no critical care beds were available in 45%. Our findings support the recommendation to regionalize cardiology care and to promote the development of cardiology unit networks.

Classification and Quality Standards of Heart Failure Units: Scientific Consensus of the Spanish Society of Cardiology

The prevalence of heart failure remains high and represents the highest disease burden in Spain. Heart failure units have been developed to systematize the diagnosis, treatment, and clinical follow-up of heart failure patients, provide a structure to coordinate the actions of various entities and personnel involved in patient care, and improve prognosis and quality of life. There is ample evidence on the benefits of heart failure units or programs, which have become widespread in Spain. One of the challenges to the analysis of heart failure units is standardization of their classification, by determining which "programs" can be identified as heart failure "units" and by characterizing their complexity level. The aim of this article was to present the standards developed by the Spanish Society of Cardiology to classify and establish the requirements for heart failure units within the SEC-Excellence project.