Clinical quality registries
A clinical quality registry (CQR) is a database of patient data and service information that is collected and used for the purpose of measuring the quality of healthcare.
Registries are typically organised around specific diseases or interventions and may be supported by professional medical groups, allied health professions, hospitals, healthcare organisations or state or commonwealth governments.
CQRs track the outcomes of healthcare interventions and identify areas for improvement. By collecting data on patient characteristics, diagnoses, treatments and outcomes, registries can provide valuable insights into the appropriateness and effectiveness of healthcare.
CQRs can highlight need for quality improvement initiatives and identify best practices, by allowing healthcare providers to identify trends and patterns in patient care that can inform decisions about how to optimise care delivery. Additionally, they can be used to benchmark against regional, national or international standards, helping healthcare providers to understand how their own practices compare to others.
Goals of CQRs
Overall, the goal of CQRs is to enhance the quality and effectiveness of healthcare by using data to inform decision-making and drive continuous improvement.
The importance of registry data for clinical quality improvement
There are several ways in which data can be used to drive clinical quality improvement:
- Identifying best practice:
By analysing data on patient characteristics, diagnoses, treatments and outcomes, healthcare providers can identify which interventions are most effective and adopt them as best practices.
- Monitoring variation:
Data can be used to track the performance of healthcare providers and identify areas where patient care could be improved. This can involve comparing to national or international benchmarks, as well as identifying trends over time.
- Identifying areas of need:
By analysing data, healthcare providers can identify specific areas where care could be optimised, For example, data might reveal that a particular patient population is experiencing higher rates of adverse events or that certain interventions are less effective than others.
- Evaluating the impact of interventions:
Data can be used to assess the impact of different interventions on patient outcomes. This can help healthcare providers determine which interventions are most effective and identify areas where further improvement is needed.
Overall, data is a crucial tool for driving clinical quality improvement because it allows the health system to make informed decisions about how to optimise care delivery and improve patient outcomes.
Publications and resources
The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC) has developed the Australian Register of Clinical Registries (the Register) to facilitate collaboration and awareness of registry activity among key stakeholders.
The Register provides summary information on the purpose and organisation of clinical registries at all stages of development. The Register is voluntary and contains a list of clinical registries that have self-nominated to be published on the Register.
CQR Policy
The Healthcare Quality Intelligence Unit (within the Patient Safety and Clinical Quality Directorate) leads on the policy arena for CQRs and supports with the following activities:
- promoting the use of CQRs and other healthcare data systems to improve the quality and effectiveness of healthcare
- establishing partnerships and collaborations
- developing and sourcing guidance materials for the WA health system
- developing or supporting the development of clinical quality dashboards to share information for the purpose of quality improvement
- advocating for enhanced and meaningful reporting from registries and the distribution of these reports to health service providers for the purpose of quality improvement.
More information
If you’d like to know more about clinical quality registries, please contact safetyandquality@health.wa.gov.au.