Cardiology
American College of Cardiology announces new initiative to improve safety for patients with Acute Coronary Syndromes
By American College of Cardiology
Nov 2, 2006, 21:10

The American College of Cardiology Foundation's National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDRTM) announced today that it will launch a new initiative to improve safety and outcomes for patients with Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS). This initiative will combine the data collection and quality reporting features of two leading national ACS registries to create the largest and most comprehensive national cardiovascular patient database ever developed. The NCDR-ACTION Registry will establish a national standard for understanding treatment patterns, clinical outcomes, drug safety, and the overall quality of care provided for ACS patients.

The NCDR-ACTION Registry (Acute Coronary Treatment and Intervention Outcomes Network) will launch January 1, 2007. The NCDR-ACTION Registry represents the combination of:

The National Registry for Myocardial Infarction (NRMI), an observational study sponsored by Genentech, Inc., and
CRUSADE, a quality improvement program coordinated by the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI) and sponsored by Schering Plough and Bristol-Myers Squibb Sanofi Partnership.

The collaborative approach of NRMI, CRUSADE and the NCDRTM will build upon a history of credible, well-established registry experience to provide new capabilities for broader reporting, benchmarking, and quality improvement in a standardized environment. NCDR-ACTION will provide a streamlined method of collecting, monitoring and reporting clinically-relevant cardiovascular data within a framework that ensures both hospital and patient confidentiality.

"This harmonization of registries allows hospitals to contribute to a clinical database that includes the full spectrum of patients with ACS," says Steven Nissen, M.D., F.A.C.C., president of the American College of Cardiology. "Our common goal is to improve patient care through the monumental effort of these contributing, credible registries and their commitment to measurement and improvement of our nation's leading cause of death, coronary heart disease."

Over the past ten years, more than 1,700 US hospitals have participated in one or more separate ACS-based quality improvement efforts led by NRMI, CRUSADE, and the NCDRTM. The new partnership between NCDR and DCRI will integrate myocardial infarction data from hundreds of hospitals across the country into one unified platform with standardized clinical data elements to benchmark outcomes, analyze treatment and call attention to quality improvement opportunities. DCRI will also provide research and analytical support for the NCDRTM flagship registry, the NCDR-CathPCI RegistryTM.

"Beginning with this monumental collaboration, NRMI and CRUSADE registries will merge into the NCDR-ACTION Registry, allowing for streamlined enrollment from hospitals, the means to create consistent methodologies for data elements, data submission, and the potential to collect CMS and JCAHO core measures," says Ralph Brindis, M.P.H., M.D., F.A.C.C., Chief Medical Officer and Chairman of the NCDR Management Board. "The NCDR-ACTION Registry will enhance national quality improvement efforts and standardize reporting requirements for ACS."

NCDRTM advises NRMI or CRUSADE participants and those who are interested in participating in the ACTION RegistryTM to go to www.accncdr.org or call 800-257-4737 for more information.

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