Kristi Mitchell

American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association Methodology for the Selection and Creation of Performance Measures for Quantifying the Quality of Cardiovascular Care

The ability to quantify the quality of cardiovascular care critically depends on the translation of recommendations for high-quality care into the measurement of that care. As payers and regulatory agencies increasingly seek to quantify healthcare quality, the implications of the measurement process on practicing physicians are likely to grow. This statement describes the methodology by which the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association approach creating performance measures and devising techniques for quantifying those aspects of care that directly reflect the quality of cardiovascular care. Methods for defining target populations, identifying dimensions of care, synthesizing the literature, and operationalizing the process of selecting measures are proposed. It is hoped that new sets of measures will be created through the implementation of this approach, and consequently, through the use of such measurement sets in the context of quality improvement efforts, the quality of cardiovascular care will improve.

Cardiac Performance Measure Compliance in Outpatients: The American College of Cardiology and National Cardiovascular Data Registry's PINNACLE (Practice Innovation And Clinical Excellence) Program

OBJECTIVES We examined compliance with performance measures for 14,464 patients enrolled from July 2008 through June 2009 into the American College of Cardiologys PINNACLE (Practice Innovation And Clinical Excellence) program to provide initial insights into the quality of outpatient cardiac care. BACKGROUND Little is known about the quality of care of outpatients with coronary artery disease (CAD), heart failure, and atrial fibrillation, and whether sex and racial disparities exist in the treatment of outpatients. METHODS The PINNACLE program is the first, national, prospective office-based quality improvement program of cardiac patients designed, in part, to capture, report, and improve outpatient performance measure compliance. We examined the proportion of patients whose care was compliant with established American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, and American Medical Association-Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement (ACC/AHA/PCPI) performance measures for CAD, heart failure, and atrial fibrillation. RESULTS There were 14,464 unique patients enrolled from 27 U.S. practices, accounting for 18,021 clinical visits. Of these, 8,132 (56.4%) had CAD, 5,012 (34.7%) had heart failure, and 2,786 (19.3%) had nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. Data from the PINNACLE program were feasibly collected for 24 of 25 ACC/AHA/PCPI performance measures. Compliance with performance measures ranged from being very low (e.g., 13.3% of CAD patients screened for diabetes mellitus) to very high (e.g., 96.7% of heart failure patients with blood pressure assessments), with moderate (70% to 90%) compliance observed for most performance measures. For 3 performance measures, there were small differences in compliance rates by race or sex. CONCLUSIONS For more than 14,000 patients enrolled from 27 practices in the outpatient PINNACLE program, we found that compliance with performance measures was variable, even after accounting for exclusion criteria, suggesting an important opportunity to improve the quality of outpatient care.

Elevated B-Type Natriuretic Peptide Is Associated With Increased In-Hospital Mortality or Cardiac Arrest in Patients Undergoing Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator Implantation

Background— The implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) is the most effective treatment for preventing arrhythmic deaths in patients with heart failure, but periprocedural complications, including in-hospital mortality or cardiac arrest, may occur, and little is known about risk factors. We asked whether elevated B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) level is associated with increased risk of in-hospital mortality or cardiac arrest in patients undergoing ICD implantation. Methods and Results— From the National Cardiovascular Data Registry ICD Registry, we identified 53 198 patients who received ICD implants and underwent preoperative BNP measurement from 2006 to 2008. The patients were categorized into 4 groups by BNP levels (<100, 100 to <300, 300 to <1000, and ≥1000 pg/mL). Complication rates were compared among groups, and odds ratios for in-hospital mortality or cardiac arrest were estimated by multiple hierarchical logistic regressions. There were 2952 complications reported, including 510 in-hospital deaths and 365 cardiac arrests. The rate of in-hospital mortality or cardiac arrest significantly increased with elevated BNP level (P<0.001). The adjusted odds ratios of in-hospital mortality or cardiac arrest were statistically significant in all 3 higher BNP groups [odds ratio (95% CI), 1.99 (1.17 to 3.39), 2.49 (1.50 to 4.13), and 4.25 (2.57 to 7.06) in the second, third, and fourth groups using <100 as reference]. Among subgroups, the association was more significant in men, patients with renal dysfunction, and patients undergoing biventricular ICD implantation. Conclusions— Elevated BNP level was significantly associated with increased risk of in-hospital mortality or cardiac arrest in patients undergoing ICD implant. Strategies aimed at reducing preprocedural BNP or creating systems to manage procedural risk merit further investigation.

Cardiac Performance Measure Compliance in Outpatients

OBJECTIVES We examined compliance with performance measures for 14,464 patients enrolled from July 2008 through June 2009 into the American College of Cardiologys PINNACLE (Practice Innovation And Clinical Excellence) program to provide initial insights into the quality of outpatient cardiac care. BACKGROUND Little is known about the quality of care of outpatients with coronary artery disease (CAD), heart failure, and atrial fibrillation, and whether sex and racial disparities exist in the treatment of outpatients. METHODS The PINNACLE program is the first, national, prospective office-based quality improvement program of cardiac patients designed, in part, to capture, report, and improve outpatient performance measure compliance. We examined the proportion of patients whose care was compliant with established American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, and American Medical Association-Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement (ACC/AHA/PCPI) performance measures for CAD, heart failure, and atrial fibrillation. RESULTS There were 14,464 unique patients enrolled from 27 U.S. practices, accounting for 18,021 clinical visits. Of these, 8,132 (56.4%) had CAD, 5,012 (34.7%) had heart failure, and 2,786 (19.3%) had nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. Data from the PINNACLE program were feasibly collected for 24 of 25 ACC/AHA/PCPI performance measures. Compliance with performance measures ranged from being very low (e.g., 13.3% of CAD patients screened for diabetes mellitus) to very high (e.g., 96.7% of heart failure patients with blood pressure assessments), with moderate (70% to 90%) compliance observed for most performance measures. For 3 performance measures, there were small differences in compliance rates by race or sex. CONCLUSIONS For more than 14,000 patients enrolled from 27 practices in the outpatient PINNACLE program, we found that compliance with performance measures was variable, even after accounting for exclusion criteria, suggesting an important opportunity to improve the quality of outpatient care.

Cardiac Performance Measure Compliance in Outpatients: The American College of Cardiology and National Cardiovascular Data Registry’s PINNACLE Program™

OBJECTIVES We examined compliance with performance measures for 14,464 patients enrolled from July 2008 through June 2009 into the American College of Cardiologys PINNACLE (Practice Innovation And Clinical Excellence) program to provide initial insights into the quality of outpatient cardiac care. BACKGROUND Little is known about the quality of care of outpatients with coronary artery disease (CAD), heart failure, and atrial fibrillation, and whether sex and racial disparities exist in the treatment of outpatients. METHODS The PINNACLE program is the first, national, prospective office-based quality improvement program of cardiac patients designed, in part, to capture, report, and improve outpatient performance measure compliance. We examined the proportion of patients whose care was compliant with established American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, and American Medical Association-Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement (ACC/AHA/PCPI) performance measures for CAD, heart failure, and atrial fibrillation. RESULTS There were 14,464 unique patients enrolled from 27 U.S. practices, accounting for 18,021 clinical visits. Of these, 8,132 (56.4%) had CAD, 5,012 (34.7%) had heart failure, and 2,786 (19.3%) had nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. Data from the PINNACLE program were feasibly collected for 24 of 25 ACC/AHA/PCPI performance measures. Compliance with performance measures ranged from being very low (e.g., 13.3% of CAD patients screened for diabetes mellitus) to very high (e.g., 96.7% of heart failure patients with blood pressure assessments), with moderate (70% to 90%) compliance observed for most performance measures. For 3 performance measures, there were small differences in compliance rates by race or sex. CONCLUSIONS For more than 14,000 patients enrolled from 27 practices in the outpatient PINNACLE program, we found that compliance with performance measures was variable, even after accounting for exclusion criteria, suggesting an important opportunity to improve the quality of outpatient care.