Issues influencing development of the Canadian Cardiovascular Information Network

Area of Science:

• Cardiovascular Health Services Research
• Health Informatics
• Public Health Surveillance

Background:

• The 1995 Canadian Cardiovascular Society Consensus Conference recommended a national observational database for cardiovascular care.
• Initiated by key Canadian health organizations and IBM, the project aimed to develop the Canadian Cardiovascular Information Network.
• Previous recommendations highlighted the need for monitoring patient selection and outcomes in invasive cardiovascular facilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify factors influencing the development of a Canadian Cardiovascular Information Network.
• To adapt IBM's Business Discovery Methodology for healthcare applications.
• To address challenges in establishing a unified national cardiovascular database.

Main Methods:

• Utilized structured interviews with health organization representatives, cardiovascular databases, and research institutes across Canada.
• Conducted a workshop to identify project goals, issues, and challenges.
• Adapted IBM's Business Discovery Methodology for the healthcare sector.

Main Results:

• Identified key goals for a cardiovascular database, including evidence-based decision-making and addressing cardiac waiting lists.
• Encountered challenges such as inter-provincial mistrust and lack of sustained funding.
• Analysis revealed definition discrepancies (e.g., waiting time for bypass surgery) hindering data comparison.
• A centralized national database was deemed infeasible due to political, technical, and financial reasons.

Conclusions:

• Provincial cardiovascular database representatives agreed to collaborate and share aggregate data.
• Standardizing data definitions is identified as a critical first step towards a national surveillance system.
• Sustained funding is essential for the successful development of national cardiovascular data initiatives.