The NeuroVascular Quality Initiative™ (NVQI™) Launches First Procedure Module: Acute Ischemic Stroke

FAIRFAX, Va., March 26, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery (SNIS) and M2S announced today the launch of the NeuroVascular Quality Initiative™ (NVQI™), a multi-module registry system designed to track performance and outcomes data across a variety of neurovascular conditions.  The launch debuts the Acute Ischemic Stroke (AIS) module, which will be used to track and benchmark clinical performance at the center level and nationally, providing valuable insight into the effectiveness of endovascular interventions and associated devices in treating a condition known to be the nation's fourth leading cause of death.  As of today, NVQI is officially enrolling hospitals and specialists in the AIS module.

As neurointerventional procedures (minimally invasive techniques designed to treat endovascular conditions of the brain and spine), have changed the treatment landscape over the past two decades and offered thousands of patients quality treatment alternatives to traditional medical approaches, NVQI is designed to track the success of these procedures, as well as demonstrate areas for improvement. Specifically, NVQI will collect detailed data on:

• Patient demographics including age, weight/height, and co-morbidities
• Patient history including pre-op medications, pre-stroke status and key time metrics associated to patient arrival and imaging
• Procedure details including treatments and devices used and medications given
• Follow-up including 14 day, 30 day, month and 1 year follow up

NVQI will be governed by the SNIS Patient Safety Organization (SNIS PSO), which oversees the data sharing arrangements and patient safety initiatives conducted within the NVQI.  The importance of the PSO structure is that it protects all comparative analyses generated within the PSO from legal discovery in state and federal court. Furthermore, it permits the collection of patient identified data for quality improvement purposes without requiring consent from individual patients or prior approval from an Institutional Review Board.  

"By encouraging the collection, aggregation, benchmarking, and analysis of clinical data, NVQI will assist SNIS members in understanding and improving patient outcomes in a safe environment.  NVQI will also permit tracking of new devices and device efficacy in a real world setting which is a critical need within this evolving field," said Peter Rasmussen, MD, Medical Director of SNIS PSO.

Gregory Lange, CEO of M2S, adds, "The NVQI Registry, supported by the M2S PATHWAYS platform, can provide, for the first time, both the breadth and depth of real time clinical data to assist hospitals and quality departments, as well as physicians, improve care for stroke patients."

Looking forward, the SNIS PSO is already planning its next-stage launch of two modules dedicated to cerebral aneurysms and cerebral arteriovenous malformations, scheduled for later this year. Additional considerations for modules include diagnostic angiography and spinal disease.

SNIS PSO has chosen M2S as the technology vendor to host the NVQI.  All data will be securely stored within the M2S PATHWAYS quality improvement data platform. M2S specializes in cloud-based quality improvement registries for data collection and reporting, offering several unique features designed to maximize reporting as well as ease of use by specialists enrolled in registries hosted on M2S PATHWAYS.                                

The Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery (SNIS)

Founded in 1992, the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery (SNIS) is represented by physicians who specialize in minimally invasive techniques to treat neurovascular conditions, including stroke, aneurysms, carotid stenosis and spinal abnormalities.  Drawing on diverse backgrounds and expertise including interventional neuroradiology, endovascular neurosurgery and interventional neurology, these physicians are continuing to forge new pathways in the development of the distinct specialty of neurointervention.  Over the past two decades, practitioners of this field have paved the way for the scientific research and study that has resulted in new technology and revolutionary treatment approaches that have transformed the neurosciences.  In keeping with the mission of SNIS, the society remains committed to working in partnership to advance the science and medical environment that will result in enhanced quality of care for patients across the globe.  www.snisonline.org  Follow us on Twitter @SNISinfo.

M2S Inc.

M2S provides technology and services to the healthcare industry to manage clinical information, reduce costs, and improve the quality of patient care. Our extensive experience in medical imaging, data management, and outcomes analysis has positioned us as the leader in providing cost-effective, innovative healthcare performance management solutions to our customers. Through our M2S PATHWAYS clinical data performance platform, we provide comprehensive tools for clinical data management, clinical outcomes assessment, and research needs. This secure, cloud-based solution enables physicians, institutions, and researchers to collect, manage, analyze, and disseminate their clinical data to achieve optimal outcomes.

SOURCE Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery