Stakeholder engagement for the New Zealand Atlas of Healthcare Variation: cardiovascular disease secondary prevention: VIEW-3.

Aims: As part of the Health Quality and Safety Commission's Atlas of Healthcare Variation in New Zealand, sociodemographic and regional differences in drug management for people with cardiovascular disease (CVD) were mapped. The aim of stakeholder engagement was to obtain feedback regarding interpretation, presentation and use of the Atlas data.

Methods: Feedback was obtained through surveys, one-on-one interviews and presentations at various meetings of clinicians, managers and researchers with an interest in CVD. Presentation and utility of the Atlas data for frontline quality improvement was explored.

Results: 28 stakeholders completed one-on-one feedback and over 100 attended meetings where the Atlas data were presented. Differences in dispensing by medication type, age, gender and ethnicity were thought to be related to diagnostic accuracy or the behaviour of prescribers or patients. Stakeholders found a funnel plot of the variation in triple therapy dispensing among general practices to be the most useful method of presentation, as it enabled practitioners to benchmark against peers, highlight areas for improvement, and monitor their progress over time.

Conclusion: Stakeholder engagement has informed the interpretation of findings and the formatting of the Atlas data in a way that would potentially lead to improvements in the quality of patient care.