International participation in the Society of Thoracic Surgeons National Database.
In 2011 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Workforce on National Databases established the International Database Task Force devoted to expanding participation in the STS National Database internationally. The vision for this initiative was to assist in the globalization of outcomes data and share knowledge, facilitating a worldwide quality collaborative in cardiac surgery. The Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel, was among the first of several international sites to join the collaborative. This report outlines the rationale behind clinical databases outside of North America submitting data to the STS National Database and reviews the unique challenges and practical steps of integration through experiences by Hadassah Medical Center. Our hope is that this procedural learning will serve as a template to assist future international program integration.
Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel. Electronic address: ozshapira@hadassah.org.il.
Oz M
OM
Shapira
Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Vinay
V
Badhwar
Department of Surgery and Center for Quality and Safety, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
David
D
Shahian
Johns Hopkins Children's Heart Surgery, All Children's Hospital and Florida Hospital for Children, Tampa, Florida.
Jeffrey P
JP
Jacobs
Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel.
Uzi
U
Izhar
Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel.
Yusheng
Y
Bao
Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel.
Amit
A
Korach
Department of Cardiac Surgery, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia.
Omar M
OM
Lattouf
Department of Surgery, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado.
Fredrick L
FL
Grover
Department of Cardiac Surgery, Emory University Hospital Midtown, Atlanta, Georgia.
John D
JD
Puskas
D016208:Databases, Factual; D038622:Internationality; D007557:Israel; D012955:Societies, Medical; D013903:Thoracic Surgery