Validity of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons National Adult Cardiac Surgery Database

Abstract

In 1989, The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) created a national voluntary cardiac surgery database as a means of supporting national quality improvement efforts [1]. The database has grown to become the largest clinical database of its kind, and includes 638 hospitals and clinical information from 2,164,079 surgical procedures. This provider-supported database allows participants to benchmark their risk-adjusted results against regional and national standards. In addition, it provides data for research projects that can improve the process of patient care and outcomes. It has also been used to support quality improvement efforts. Each of these uses, however, is dependent on an accurate and complete clinical database. The purpose of this article is to provide the STS membership with a description of the ongoing efforts to assure validity of the National Adult Cardiac Surgery Database (NCD). In particular, we will highlight examples of data quality assurance mechanisms occurring at three levels: internally, regionally, and nationally.