Measuring safety and quality to improve clinical outcomes--current activities and future directions for the Australian Cardiac Procedures Registry.

Routine monitoring of performance in the provision of cardiac services aids quality assurance and enables comparisons of performance to national and international standards. The Australasian Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons conducts a surgical registry that has grown from six hospitals participating in 2001 to 21 contributing in 2010. Variation in performance is monitored on a quarterly basis through the use of control chart methodology, and a peer-review mechanism and governance process for reporting have been established. Proposed future developments of the registry include its expansion to include interventional cardiology procedures, such as implantation of stents and cardiac devices, and a modular format, with the patient rather than the procedure being the key element of the system. An Australian Cardiac Procedures Registry will provide information to stakeholders, including consumers, clinicians, health funders and policymakers, on performance standards and quality of care of medical services affecting an ever-increasing number of Australians.