The Heart and Vascular Institute at UPMC Hamot Recognized by the Society for Vascular Surgery Vascular Quality Initiative as a Carotid Care Quality Champion

The Heart and Vascular Institute at UPMC Hamot has been identified as a Carotid Care Quality Champion by the Society for Vascular Surgery^® Vascular Quality Initiative^® (SVS VQI) clinical registry recognition program. The program honors healthcare organizations across the country dedicated to improving the safety and effectiveness of vascular care through participation and engagement in VQI’s carotid artery stenting and carotid endarterectomy registries.

Facilities across the United States rely on SVS VQI to support their commitment to quality care for their vascular patients and help them adhere to the latest professional guidelines. In October 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its final decision on NCD 20.7, which pertains to coverage for carotid artery stenting. Although participation in a registry was not mandated for coverage, CMS does require centers to establish and maintain institutional and physician standards to support a carotid stent program—and registry participation remains the most appropriate approach to compliance. The SVS VQI is the premier registry that allows centers to develop and maintain a full carotid treatment quality assurance program.

Since its inception, the SVS VQI has been the basis for hundreds of quality assurance and quality improvement programs at hospitals throughout the US and Canada. Clinical data gathered from participating centers has led to scientific discoveries that have changed clinical practice and dramatically improved patient care. Participating SVS VQI centers include academic medical centers, teaching hospitals, community hospitals, vein centers, office-based labs, and individual physician practices.

“The Heart and Vascular Institute at UPMC Hamot is proud to be recognized by SVS VQI as a Carotid Care Quality Champion, a distinction that reflects our commitment to tracking patient outcomes and improving the quality of care at our institution,” says Walter Rizzoni, MD, Chairman of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine & Surgery and Division Chief of Vascular Surgery at UPMC Hamot. “Our participation in the VQI allows us to monitor performance, benchmark outcomes, and provide the best possible care for our patients.

The Heart and Vascular Institute at UPMC Hamot is home to the largest team of cardiovascular experts and the first Comprehensive Cardiac Center in Erie. The team at UPMC Hamot provides the full scope of care for heart, vascular, and thoracic disease, including diagnosis and treatment, surgery, rehabilitation, and long-term risk factor management. As the first in the region to offer a valve center, a heart failure clinic, and a peripheral vascular disease center, UPMC Hamot continually seeks to innovate and advance cardiovascular care for patients.

VQI participation offers centers the ability to:

• track provider and center performance and compare to national benchmarks
• identify areas for quality improvement and address length of stay
• participate in a robust quality improvement program, with access to quality improvement toolkits, quality charters, webinars, and one-on-one mentoring for members
• network with other participating centers to review outcomes data, foster collaboration, and spark further clinical innovation

“Improving outcomes is a top priority for SVS VQI and our quality champions,” says Jens Eldrup-Jorgensen, MD, medical director, SVS Patient Safety Organization. “This recognition is only awarded to facilities that are demonstrating their commitment to quality through use of our carotid registries and leveraging real-world data to inform needed adjustments in care delivery. By working together, we are able to strive for the best possible outcomes and advance vascular care.”

SVS VQI registries are powered by the Fivos PATHWAYS^® platform, a secure, cloud-based solution for data collection and analysis. Using PATHWAYS, SVS VQI participating providers can utilize real-time reporting to benchmark performance, while device manufacturers can develop custom projects that leverage registry data to accelerate device development, evaluation, or approval.

To learn more, visit https://www.vqi.org.

About UPMC 

UPMC is a world-renowned, nonprofit health care provider and insurer committed to delivering exceptional, people-centered care and community services. Headquartered in Pittsburgh and affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences, UPMC is shaping the future of health through clinical and technological innovation, research, and education. Dedicated to advancing the well-being of our diverse communities, we provide nearly $2 billion annually in community benefits, more than any other health system in Pennsylvania. Our 100,000 employees — including more than 5,000 physicians — care for patients across more than 40 hospitals and 800 outpatient sites in Pennsylvania, New York, and Maryland, as well as overseas. UPMC Insurance Services covers more than 4 million members, providing the highest-quality care at the most affordable price. To learn more, visit UPMC.com.

About SVS VQI

The Society for Vascular Surgery^® Vascular Quality Initiative^® (SVS VQI) is governed by the SVS Patient Safety Organization (SVS PSO), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Society for Vascular Surgery, which provides oversight of data sharing arrangements, key outcome and quality measure analyses, and dissemination of information to participating providers. SVS VQI comprises vascular surgeons, cardiac surgeons, general surgeons, cardiologists, radiologists and other specialists who perform vascular procedures collected in the VQI Registries, as well as Quality Improvement professionals, data managers and others dedicated to improving patient outcomes. Over 1,000 participating centers are divided into 18 regional quality groups who meet biannually to discuss initiatives for improving the quality of vascular care. SVS VQI is powered by the Fivos cloud-based registry platform. To learn more about SVS VQI, please visit www.vqi.org [vqi.org].