Quality of Care for Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: Development of Canadian Cardiovascular Society Quality Indicators

Abstract Currently there are over 40 centers in Canada performing more than 65000 percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) in a year. Considering the high volume of procedures and number of operators, the potential for variation in processes of care is high, and may lead to variation in the quality of care. As part of its quality initiative, the Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS) convened a working group to develop a set of PCI Quality Indicators (QI) that would be relevant, scientifically acceptable and feasible to measure and report. The working group comprised of clinical experts from across Canada and members of provincial and federal organizations involved in promoting the quality of health care. Using the CCS “Best Practices for Developing Cardiovascular Quality Indicators” methodology, a total of 23 QIs were proposed. Subsequent ranking and discussion led to the selection of 8 QIs. The selection and ranking of QIs were based on clinical importance and relevance, scientific acceptability, and feasibility of their operationalization at a national level. The data definitions and technical notes of the QIs were refined after feasibility testing and web consultation. Feasibility testing indicated that standardization and enhancements of knowledge infrastructure are essential to provide the comprehensive patient data necessary to evaluate the quality of PCI across Canada.