Fausto Pinto

Quality Markers in Cardiology. Main Markers to Measure Quality of Results (Outcomes) and Quality Measures Related to Better Results in Clinical Practice (Performance Metrics). INCARDIO ( Indicadores de Calidad en Unidades Asistenciales del Área del Corazón ): A SEC/SECTCV Consensus Position Paper

Cardiology practice requires complex organization that impacts overall outcomes and may differ substantially among hospitals and communities. The aim of this consensus document is to define quality markers in cardiology, including markers to measure the quality of results (outcomes metrics) and quality measures related to better results in clinical practice (performance metrics). The document is mainly intended for the Spanish health care system and may serve as a basis for similar documents in other countries.

Quality markers in cardiology: measures of outcomes and clinical practice--a perspective of the Spanish Society of Cardiology and of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.

The complexity of the individual patient and organization of medical practice results in important institutional and country quality of care variability.1–17 Attempts to assess the quality of clinical practice have established rating systems that may yield completely different results and rating for the same hospital during the same period of time, adding confusion rather than help to prove their usefulness and, questioning whether existing measures can actually measure quality.18–35 Most important, benchmarking may be associated with progressive improvement both in performance and outcomes,18,26,28,36–38 highlighting the relevance of standardization of quality measures and the responsibility of scientific societies. The Spanish Society of Cardiology (SSC) and the Spanish Society of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery (SSTCS) organized a task force to identify and define two sets of quality metrics in hospital cardiology practice: (i) outcome measures (metrics of the final quality of the practice of cardiology) and (ii) performance measures (metrics of clinical practice which are known to positively influence desirable outcomes). Beyond this objective, Scientific Societies and Health Care Authorities should be responsible for the implementation of programmes to measure quality, ensure the quality of the data, benchmarking, and certification/accreditation of cardiology services. All European Society of Cardiology (ESC)32 and American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology33 guidelines were reviewed and recommendations related to quality standards were included in the document. ### Grading of quality markers Three levels were established both for class recommendation and level of evidence considering (i) clinical and practical …

European National Society Cardiovascular Journals: Background, rationale and mission statement of the 'Editors' Club' (Task Force of the European Society of Cardiology).

Anesti Kondili MD, Djamaleddine Nibouche MD, Karlen Adamyan MD, Kurt Huber MD, Hugo Ector MD, Izet Masic MD, Rumiana Tarnovska MD, Mario Ivanusa MD, Vladimír Stane˘k MD, Jørgen Videbæk MD, Mohamed Hamed MD, Alexandras Laucevicius MD, Pirjo Mustonen MD, Jean-Yves Artigou MD, Ariel Cohen MD, Mamanti Rogava MD, Michael Böhm MD, Eckart Fleck MD, Gerd Heusch MD, Rainer Klawki MD, Panos Vardas MD, Christodoulos Stefanadis MD, József Tenczer MD, Massimo Chiariello MD, Aleksandras Laucevicius MD, Joseph Elias MD, Halima Benjelloun MD, Olaf Rødevand MD, Piotr Kul/akowski MD, Edvard Apetrei MD, Victor A. Lusov MD, Rafael G. Oganov MD, Velibor Obradovic MD, Gabriel Kamensky MD, Miran F. Kenda MD, Christer Höglund MD, Thomas F. Lüscher MD, René Lerch MD, Moufid Jokhadar MD, Habib Haouala MD, Vedat Sansoy MD, Valentin Shumakov MD, Adam Timmis MD. (European National Society Cardiovascular Journals Editors, see Appendix for complete affiliations)

Conflict of interest policies and disclosure requirements among European Society of Cardiology national cardiovascular journals

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest (COI) is used by biomedical journals to guarantee credibility and transparency of the scientific process. COI disclosure, however, is not systematically nor consistently dealt with by journals. Recent joint editorial efforts paved the way towards the implementation of uniform vehicles for COI disclosure. This paper provides a comprehensive editorial perspective on classical COI-related issues. New insights into current COI policies and practices among European Society of Cardiology national cardiovascular journals, as derived from a cross-sectional survey using a standardised questionnaire, are discussed.

Fostering diffusion of scientific contents of National Society Cardiovascular Journals: the new ESC search engine

The National Society Cardiovascular Journals (NSCJs) of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) are high-quality biomedical journals devoted to publishing original research and educative material on cardiovascular diseases.1–3 These journals officially belong to the corresponding ESC national societies. Many of them have achieved major international recognition, are included in most important bibliometric databases, and have made major scientific impact.1–5 Some NSCJs offer full-text English content and are freely available in electronic editions. However, NSCJs are largely heterogeneous and some of them are only published in local languages with a limited visibility.1–3 The main goal of biomedical journals is to publish high-quality scientific information. To achieve this goal, journals should compete for the best research carried out in their field, the ‘prestige’ of the journal being the main driver to attract original contributions.1–3 In turn, a journal’s prestige is based on credibility, diffusion and scientific impact.6 To ensure that the scientific process is fully respected, journals rely in the ‘peer review’ system. This process not only allows the editors to select the best possible material for publication, but also assures the readers that the quality of the information follows the highest scientific standards. In fact, the process significantly improves the final quality of manuscripts eventually published. Once an article is definitely accepted for publication, the journal should guarantee its expedited publication and widespread diffusion among the scientific community.1–3 The Editors’ Network of the ESC provides a unique platform for devising editorial initiatives aimed to improve the scientific quality, and facilitate diffusion of the contents, of NSCJs.1–5 Herein we will discuss the importance of the internet and electronic editions in scientific publishing. We will also review the growing relevance of open access (OA) strategies. Last but not least, we will propose a new initiative based …

Sociedade Brasileira de Cardiologia: carta do Rio de Janeiro - III Brasil Prevent / I América Latina Prevent

The final document will be published as a special article in the Arquivos Brasileiros de Cardiologia and as an editorial note in scientific journals of societies and their affiliates supporting this documentThe document aims to provide an overview of cardiovascular diseases and outline strategic actions to reduce the prevalence of risk factors that contribute to high morbidity and mortality.Acknowledging the Political Declaration of the United Nations High-Level Meeting on the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases (NCD’s)

Fostering diffusion of scientific contents of National Society Cardiovascular Journals:the new ESC search engine.

European Society of Cardiology (ESC) National Society Cardiovascular Journals (NSCJs) are high-quality biomedical journals focused on cardiovascular diseases. The Editors’ Network of the ESC devises editorial initiatives aimed at improving the scientific quality and diffusion of NSCJ. In this article we will discuss on the importance of the Internet, electronic editions and open access strategies on scientific publishing. Finally, we will propose a new editorial initiative based on a novel electronic tool on the ESC web-page that may further help to increase the dissemination of contents and visibility of NSCJs.