Coming soon – CVDPREVENT outcomes indicators

The CVDPREVENT team are pleased to announce that 10 new experimental indicators are to be introduced to the audit on 26th February 2024. The ‘Outcomes Indicators’ are a completely new type of indicator that have been calculated using a linked dataset as part of a collaborative project between NHS England (NHSE), the National Cardiovascular Intelligence Network in the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (NCVIN-OHID) and the NHS Benchmarking Network (NHSBN).

The CVDPREVENT audit provides data for users to understand how many people with CVD or its high-risk conditions are being identified, diagnosed and treated in primary care. However, it was recognised that data was not yet available to explicitly monitor the impact that CVD might be having on these patients. In order to measure this, a new dataset was created that links CVDPREVENT primary care data to mortality (ONS) and admissions (HES) data.

An example:

CVDPREVENT audit data finds patients aged 18 – 79 that are diagnosed with hypertension, recorded as such on 31st December 2022. With the new linked dataset, the team are then able to monitor whether these patients died from CVD within the following year of this recorded diagnosis (i.e. at any point between 1st January 2023 to 31st December 2023). Therefore, the audit is able to calculate the CVD mortality rate (in 2023) among the population aged 18 – 79 with GP recorded hypertension (as recorded on 31st December 2022). This is one of the CVDPREVENT experimental outcomes indicators.

The indicators

There are currently 10 outcomes indicators:

Caveats and intepretation

There are several caveats that should be considered when interpreting these new experimental indicators. These indicators are measures of risk among the population who have certain diagnoses in their GP records, so do not include outcomes in the population (e.g. heart attack) before they are known to a GP. The indicators also do not take into consideration the time lived with certain diagnosis.

For these reasons, indicators are experimental, and care should be taken with interpretation. Indicators are age-standardised to allow comparison and account for the age structure of disease and outcomes, but users should consider the caveats and also apply knowledge of the demographic structure and disease burden in their own locality. It should also be noted that there are many confounding factors contributing to CVD risk. We encourage users to apply critical thinking to the findings of these indicators and we welcome any feedback or any queries arising from the data.

For a full list of the caveats to aid interpretation, a ‘New Indicator Guide’ will be published alongside the indicators on 26th February 2024. This will also contain a full breakdown of the methodology behind the indicators and guidance on how they should be used

For queries, please contact the CVDPREVENT Support Team at: nhsbn.cvdprevent@nhs.net

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