Q-Centrix Joins Forces With the American College of Cardiology in an Effort to Improve Quality and Cut Costs at Member Hospitals

CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwired - January 12, 2016) - Q-Centrix, a leading quality data solution provider in healthcare, today announced that it has joined forces with the American College of Cardiology (ACC) to improve the overall performance of quality efforts and cut costs by facilitating the use of data registry capture services in member hospitals. The ACC joins a growing number of organizations who recognize Q-Centrix can help hospitals reduce the barriers associated with healthcare quality improvement, including the American Heart Association, National Quality Forum, Premier, Inc., and more.

"Registries are valuable in that they generate data and analytics that inform better decision-making in today's data-driven healthcare world," explained Q-Centrix CEO, Milton Silva-Craig. "As the practice of medicine shifts from episodic care to a more holistic, integrated approach, this information is essential for managing chronic disease conditions and improving the overall health status of patient populations. This is very important for members of organizations like ACC that routinely deal with a large variety of chronic heart conditions."

The ACC developed the National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR^®) to collect and report on standardized national clinical cardiovascular data in connection with a wide variety of cardiovascular procedures and conditions. Q-Centrix is prepared to handle all NCDR data elements, definitions and data-entry requirements.

"Q-Centrix is known for its deep knowledge of NCDR programs and is a leading data abstraction provider," said Barbara Christensen, MSHA, RN, Senior Director, NCDR Registry Services. "We were impressed with the quality of their staff and the level of training they provide. We're always looking for ways to help our participants be successful and felt Q-Centrix provides a valuable service." 

In the past, hospitals typically assigned responsibility for registry abstraction to nurses or quality managers, usually on a part-time basis. Today, however, attaining and maintaining a high level of proficiency in registry data management demands a full-time commitment. Each registry has unique credentialing requirements, and registrars often must pass annual tests to maintain their certification. They also need continuing education to stay current with best practices.

"The largest single cost to hospitals for clinical registries is the data management personnel needed to manage them," added Silva-Craig. "To address the associated costs and meet the growing demand for qualified registrars, more and more hospitals are turning to organizations like us. Our registry solutions allow our partner hospitals to focus more time on caring for patients and monitoring quality practices, reducing registry errors, improving quality, and maximizing productivity among hospital staff."

"In addition, Q-Centrix's solutions are being certified with the ACC to be able to capture and submit clinical registry data directly to the ACC, thereby saving time and lowering costs, so hospitals can refocus their efforts on driving improved performance."

To date, Q-Centrix partners with 78 hospitals on ACC registries and has abstracted more than 156,000 NCDR cases since 2013. "Our relationship with the ACC is part of a larger strategy at Q-Centrix designed to effect change and improve quality among hospitals and health organizations of all types," concluded Silva-Craig. 

The organizational strategy includes engaging several like-minded organizations within the industry to reduce barriers to healthcare quality improvement. At the start of 2015, Premier LLC announced their decision to bundle Q-Centrix data solutions with its quality improvement analytics in PremierConnect®, Premier's integrated technology platform. Later in the year, Q-Centrix became a member of the National Quality Forum. In May, Q-Centrix announced a partnership with the Illucient Purchasing Alliance, LLC, a joint venture between the Coastal Carolinas Health Alliance (CCHA) and the Southern Atlantic Healthcare Alliance (SAHA). Later that month, the American Heart Association selected Q-Centrix to support their quality improvement program. Then, M2S selected Q-Centrix to help support the Vascular Quality Initiative (VQI).

About Q-Centrix
Q-Centrix aims to measurably improve the quality and safety of patient care in the U.S. through the use of its market-leading technology platform, Q-Apps, coupled with the industry's largest and broadest team of nurse-educated, quality information specialists. Processing in excess of one million quality data transactions annually, Q-Centrix is a comprehensive quality partner to hundreds of hospitals, providing clinical surveillance, abstraction, analysis and improvement solutions.

About the American College of Cardiology 
The American College of Cardiology is a 49,000-member medical society that is the professional home for the entire cardiovascular care team. The mission of the College is to transform cardiovascular care and to improve heart health. The ACC leads in the formation of health policy, standards and guidelines. The College operates national registries to measure and improve care, provides professional medical education, disseminates cardiovascular research and bestows credentials upon cardiovascular specialists who meet stringent qualifications. For more information, visit acc.org.

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