VQI Registry: Driving Quality Improvement in Vascular Care
The VQI Registry, part of the SVS VQI, empowers hospitals to benchmark, analyze, and elevate vascular care delivery. Discover how executive leaders in quality and cardiovascular programs can harness this powerful database to drive measurable performance improvements.
Table of Contents
Why Vascular Health Requires a Precision Approach
The vascular system plays a foundational role in human health, delivering oxygen and nutrients through an intricate network of arteries, veins, and capillaries. Yet, vascular diseases remain alarmingly common—impacting up to 40 million Americans, according to the Society for Vascular Health. Left untreated, these conditions can lead to serious outcomes such as stroke, amputation, or death.
Effective vascular care isn’t just critical—it’s complex. Patients with vascular disease often require lifelong surveillance, coordinated interventions, and multidisciplinary care strategies. Success depends on more than surgical skill; it demands the ability to benchmark, monitor, and improve performance across the entire care continuum.
The Role of the VQI Registry in Advancing Vascular Quality
Launched by the Society for Vascular Surgery in 2011, the VQI Registry—part of the SVS VQI (Vascular Quality Initiative)—was created to address these challenges head-on. Its mission is clear: to improve the quality, safety, effectiveness, and cost-efficiency of vascular healthcare through the collection and sharing of clinical data.
Participation in SVS VQI is open to a wide spectrum of providers and facilities, including academic medical centers, teaching hospitals, community hospitals, office-based labs, and private practices. As of 2024, more than 1,000 sites contribute data across 14 specialized VQI registries, creating a powerful foundation for performance improvement and research.
Inside the VQI Registry: What Data Is Collected?
The VQI Registry includes detailed, risk-adjusted data across the following registries:
- Carotid Artery Stent
- Carotid Endarterectomy
- Endovascular AAA Repair
- Open AAA Repair
- Hemodialysis Access
- Inferior Vena Cava Filter
- Infra-Inguinal Bypass
- Supra-Inguinal Bypass
- Lower Extremity Amputation
- Peripheral Vascular Intervention
- Thoracic and Complex EVAR
- Varicose Vein
- Vascular Medicine
- Venous Stent
Each record in the VQI database includes demographic, procedural, and outcomes data—spanning pre-op risk factors to one-year follow-up. With over 1 million procedures collected to date across the U.S., Canada, and Singapore, the VQI Registry offers unprecedented visibility into real-world vascular care.
How VQI Data Is Captured: The Role of the VQI Data Abstractor
High-quality data begins with high-quality abstraction. Each site participating in the VQI Registry employs trained VQI data abstractors to extract relevant information from patient charts—ensuring consistency, completeness, and compliance with registry standards.
This process supports several key quality objectives:
- Benchmarking performance across providers and regions
- Identifying care gaps
- Monitoring compliance with evidence-based practices
- Reducing medical errors
- Supporting regulatory and accreditation reporting
- Enabling performance-based payment models
Whether for internal dashboards or national benchmarking, the work of VQI data abstractors is central to the success of any VQI data strategy.
Because this role requires specialized clinical knowledge, proficiency in registry platforms, and strict attention to compliance, qualified VQI data abstractors can be difficult to source—especially in competitive or rural labor markets. Many organizations are now turning to experienced chart abstraction companies to ensure data integrity, avoid delays, and maintain compliance without overburdening internal teams. Click here to talk with our team to get pricing info for data abstraction outsourcing.
Executive-Level Benefits of Participating in the SVS VQI
Hospitals and health systems participating in the SVS VQI gain access to one of the most robust vascular datasets available today. For executive leaders in quality or cardiovascular care, benefits include:
- Improved outcomes through real-time benchmarking and feedback reports
- Cost savings by identifying high-variability areas and reducing complications
- Data for research, clinical trials, and device surveillance
- Support for value-based care initiatives
- Collaboration with national stakeholders, including the American College of Cardiology, CMS, and device manufacturers
For quality and cardiovascular leaders focused on strategic improvement, the VQI Registry offers both macro-level insight and granular data to guide decision-making.
A Real-World Example: Stanford Reduces LOS Using VQI Registry Data
A study published in the Journal of Vascular Surgery illustrates how Stanford Health Care used the VQI Registry to identify and address excessive length of stay (LOS) after carotid endarterectomy (CEA) and endovascular aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR).
In 2021, Stanford’s LOS outlier rates were:
- CEA >1 day: 67% (vs. target of 21%)
- EVAR >2 days: 36% (vs. target of 22%)
After a full review of VQI data, Stanford implemented a multidisciplinary Plan-Do-Study-Act initiative from April 2022 to July 2023. By the end of the project:
- CEA LOS >1 day dropped from 50% to 15%
- EVAR LOS >2 days dropped from 26% to 7%
- Same-day discharge rates rose significantly for both procedures (CEA: 85%, EVAR: 76%)
The takeaway: Data-driven, team-based quality improvement, guided by VQI database benchmarks, can result in measurable performance gains.
VQI Registry Momentum Continues to Build
With more than 1,000 participating centers and over 1 million procedures logged, the VQI Registry continues to expand its impact on vascular care. SVS leaders note that participating hospitals are demonstrating a strong commitment to data transparency, performance benchmarking, and continuous improvement.
“Improving quality is a high priority for everyone in the medical community. This long list of SVS VQI participating centers reflects their commitment to quality. By collecting detailed clinical and procedural data that is usable and actionable, the SVS VQI is a critical tool that provides invaluable insight to providers and device manufacturers. We are all committed to improving patient care, and the data provides a path,” said Jens Eldrup-Jorgensen, MD, Medical Director of the SVS Patient Safety Organization.
For hospital executives focused on delivering measurable value, the VQI Registry is not just a database—it’s a strategic asset for advancing clinical excellence and operational efficiency in vascular care.
