National QI Initiatives

Experienced SVS VQI centers have applied registry data and implemented innovative approaches to improve success rates for the current national quality initiatives on Smoking Cessation (coming soon), Use of Discharge Medications and Endovascular AAA Long-term Follow-Up with Imaging.

Click here to see a sample report tracking improvement at the center level.

SMOKING Cessation

Research has shown that smokers have far more surgical complications, and many surgeons are reluctant to operate on them unless it’s an emergency. Smoking cessation before surgery is recommended by the Society for Vascular Surgery and the American College of Cardiology among others.

Discharge Medications

The SVS VQI’s first national QI initiative is the prescribing of antiplatelet agents and statins at discharge to improve patients’ long-term vascular health.  Discharge medications was selected because it is a treatment that affects most vascular surgery patients and is readily actionable.  There is strong evidence that antiplatelet agents and statins increase patient survival.

SVS VQI data have shown that patients undergoing arterial procedures who received a discharge prescription of antiplatelet medications and a statin had significantly better 5-year survival.

EVAR: Sac Diameter reporting

EVAR requires long-term monitoring to ensure the durability of repair. EVAR patients are susceptible to the late development of endoleaks, which can occur in up to 20% of patients and may result in rupture.  Recent studies have demonstrated low compliance rates with long-term follow-up imaging after EVAR. To ensure that patients achieve successful outcomes after EVAR, long-term follow-up imaging is essential.