Introduction:
The Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP) is the new national stroke register of England and Wales. It has been designed to harness the power of “Big Data” to produce near real-time data collection, analysis and reporting. Sophisticated data visualization is used to provide customized analytics for clinical teams, administrators, healthcare funders and stroke survivors and carers.
Methods:
A portfolio of cutting edge data visualisation outputs, including team level slidedecks, performance charts, dashboards , and interactive maps, was produced. Visualisations for patients and the public were co-designed with stroke survivors. Stakeholder feedback regarding accessibility and usefulness of the resources was sought via online polls.
Results:
Key SSNAP results are made accessible electronically every three months in a range of bespoke graphical formats. Individualised slidedecks and data summaries are produced for every hospital, funding group, and region to enable provider level performance and quality reporting and regional and national benchmarking. Dynamic maps enhance dissemination and use of results. Real time root cause analysis tools help teams identify areas of improvement. Feedback reports unprecedented utility of these resources for clinical teams, funders, regional and national health bodies, patients and the public in identifying areas of good practice and requiring improvements, highlighting variations, and driving change.
Conclusion:
SSNAP is a potential new model of healthcare quality measurement that uses recent developments in big data analytics and visualization to provide information on stroke care quality that is more useful to stakeholders. Similar approaches could be used in other healthcare settings and populations.
Big Data and Algorithms in the Public Sector and Their Impact on the Transparency of Decision-Making
