title: Canadian Cardiovascular Society Quality Indicators for Heart Failure.
abstract: A working group was convened by the Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) in 2010 to identify quality indicators (QIs) for heart failure (HF). Using the CCS "Best Practices for Developing Cardiovascular Quality Indicators" methodology, a total of 49 "long-list" QIs was identified and rated. Subsequent ranking and discussion led to the selection of an initial "short-list" of 6 QIs to evaluate quality care, including daily assessment of blood chemistry indicators, chest radiography, patient education, in-hospital use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin-receptor blockers, assessment of left ventricular function, and 30-day hospital readmission. The short-list QIs were selected as being important for quality assurance and because the patient information, for the most part, can be captured during the inpatient setting, which would allow these QIs to be adopted more easily. These 6 QIs were subjected to a feasibility test that found that even within the inpatient setting, there is a significant gap between the existing knowledge infrastructure and the necessary information-tracking processes to measure QIs. Only 1 QI (30-day hospital readmission) can currently be measured comparatively across Canada, although the other 5 of 6 short-list QIs can be measured using other data collected by jurisdictions. Standardization and enhancements to knowledge infrastructure are essential to provide the comprehensive patient data necessary to evaluate the quality of HF care across Canada.
authors.affiliation: McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: robert.mckelvie@phri.ca.
authors.forename: Robert S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: McKelvie
authors.affiliation: Schlegel-UW Research Institute for Aging, School of Public Health and Heath Systems, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: George A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Heckman
authors.affiliation: Institut national de santé publique du Québec, Faculté de pharmacie, Université Laval, Québec City, Québec, Canada.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Blais
authors.affiliation: Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
authors.forename: Jafna L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Cox
authors.affiliation: University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: Justin A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Ezekowitz
authors.affiliation: Health System Performance, Canadian Institute for Health Information, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Yanyan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.affiliation: Cardiac Care Network of Ontario and McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Harkness
authors.affiliation: St Michael's Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Gordon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Moe
authors.affiliation: Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Sulan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: St Michael's Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Dorian
authors.affiliation: University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: David E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Johnstone
authors.affiliation: Canadian Cardiovascular Society, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Erin C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: McGeachie
authors.affiliation: ICES, Sunnybrook, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Jack V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Tu
authors.affiliation: Institut national d'excellence en santé et en services sociaux (INESSS), Montréal, Québec, Canada.
authors.forename: Laurie J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Lambert
mesh_terms: D057911:Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001774:Blood Chemical Analysis; D002170:Canada; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000628:therapy*; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care / Q000592:standards; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010359:Patient Readmission; D019984:Quality Indicators, Health Care / Q000592:standards*; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000592:standards; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic; D016277:Ventricular Function, Left
chemical_list: D057911:Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists; D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors