BLOOMINGTON– The Society for Vascular Surgery’s Vascular Quality Initiative (SVS
VQI) has awarded Indiana University Health Bloomington three stars for its active participation
in the Registry Participation Program.
The mission of the SVS VQI is to improve patient safety and the quality of vascular care delivery
by providing web-based collection, aggregation, and analysis of clinical data submitted in registry
format for all patients undergoing specific vascular treatments. The VQI operates 14 vascular
registries.
The participation awards program began in 2016 to encourage active participation in the
registries program and recognize the importance of that participation.
Participating centers can earn up to three stars based on actions that lead to better patient care,
including:
1. The completeness of long-term, follow-up reporting, based on the percentage of patients
for whom they have at least nine months of follow-up data
2. Physician attendance at semi-annual meetings of a regional quality group
3. Initiation of quality improvement activities based on VQI data
4. The number of vascular registries in which the center participates
VQI’s registries contain demographic, clinical, procedural, and outcomes data from more than
1,000,000 vascular procedures were performed in the United States, Canada, and Singapore. Each
record includes information from the patient’s initial hospitalization and at one-year follow-up.
The wealth of data allows centers and providers to compare their performance to regional and
national benchmarks. All centers and providers receive biannual dashboards and regular
performance reports so they can use their data to support quality improvement initiatives.
“When healthcare professionals come together to share data and lessons learned, we can
better deliver value-based surgical and medical vascular care to our patients,” said Duangnapa
Cuddy, DO, vascular surgeon. “All patients deserve high-quality and compassionate healthcare,
and our work here could end up helping individuals across the nation.”
“Excellence in patient care matters, and this award recognizes how this team values the many
attributes that go into quality vascular care, including patient care continuity,” said David
Peterson, MD, vascular surgeon. “We’re honored to be part of a statewide system where
hospitals collaborate to improve patient experiences and outcomes today and in the future.”
Biannual regional meetings allow physicians of different specialties, nurses, data managers,
quality officers, and others to meet, share information and ideas, and learn from each other in a
positive and supportive environment. Members have used VQI data to significantly improve the
delivery of vascular care at local, regional, and national levels, reducing complications and
expenses.
“Hard-working, dedicated organizations such as IU Health Bloomington are key to the success
of the vascular registries,” said VQI Medical Director Dr. Jens Eldrup-Jorgensen. “The work we
do to build and maintain the registries for researcher use is crucial to health and outcomes for
vascular patients. Like the old saying says, ‘If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.’”
About Indiana University Health
Named the “#1 Hospital in Indiana” by U.S. News & World Report, Indiana University Health is
dedicated to providing a unified standard of preeminent, patient-centered care. A unique
partnership with Indiana University School of Medicine – one of the nation’s leading medical
schools – gives our highly skilled physicians access to innovative treatments using the latest
research and technology. Learn more at www.iuhealth.org.
Vascular Quality Initiative
Operating under the Society for Vascular Surgery, the Vascular Quality Initiative is composed of
14 registries containing demographic, clinical, procedural, and outcomes data from more than
1,000,000 vascular procedures performed nationwide and in Canada. The mission of VQI is to
improve the quality, safety, effectiveness, and cost of vascular healthcare.
