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Ann-Dorthe Zwisler,1 Henriette Knold Rossau,1 Anne Nakano,2,3 Sussie Foghmar,4 Regina Eichhorst,5 Eva Prescott,6 Charlotte Cerqueira,7 Anne Merete Boas Soja,4 Gunnar H Gislason,8–10 Mogens Lytken Larsen,5 Ulla Overgaard Andersen,11 Ida Gustafsson,4 Kristian K Thomsen,12 Lene Boye Hansen,13 Signe Hammer,14 Lone Viggers,15 Bo Christensen,16 Birgitte Kvist,17 Cecilie Lindström Egholm,18 Ole May19 On behalf of the Working Group of Preventive Cardiology and Rehabilitation, Danish Society of Cardiology, and the Working Group of Cardiac Clinical Registries, Danish Society of Cardiology 1Danish Centre for Rehabilitation and Palliative Care, Odense University Hospital and University of Southern Denmark, Odense, 2Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University Hospital, 3Registry Support Centre (West) – Clinical Quality Improvement & Health Informatics, Aarhus, 4Department of Cardiology, Copenhagen University Hospital, Hvidovre, 5Department of Cardiology, Aalborg University Hospital, Aalborg, 6Department of Cardiology, Bispebjerg Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, 7Registry Support Centre (East) – Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Research Centre for Prevention and Health, the Capital Region of Denmark, Glostrup, 8Department of Cardiology, Copenhagen University Hospital Gentofte, Hellerup, 9The Danish Heart Foundation, Copenhagen, 10The National Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, 11Department of Cardiology, Holbaek Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, 12Department of Cardiology, Hospital of Southwest Jutland, Esbjerg, 13Department of Cardiology, Gentofte Hospital, Gentofte, 14Department of Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy, Herlev Hospital, Herlev, 15Department of Nutrition, Regional Hospital West Jutland, Holstebro, 16Department of General Medicine, School of Public Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus, 17Department of Health Care and Prevention, Municipality of Frederikshavn, Frederikshavn, 18The Regional Research Unit, Region Zealand, Roskilde, 19Department of Medicine, Cardiovascular Research Unit, Regional Hospital Herning, Herning, Denmark Aim of database: The Danish Cardiac Rehabilitation Database (DHRD) aims to improve the quality of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) to the benefit of patients with coronary heart disease (CHD).Study population: Hospitalized patients with CHD with stenosis on coronary angiography treated with percutaneous coronary intervention, coronary artery bypass grafting, or medication alone. Reporting is mandatory for all hospitals in Denmark delivering CR. The database was initially implemented in 2013 and was fully running from August 14, 2015, thus comprising data at a patient level from the latter date onward.Main variables: Patient-level data are registered by clinicians at the time of entry to CR directly into an online system with simultaneous linkage to other central patient registers. Follow-up data are entered after 6 months. The main variables collected are related to key outcome and performance indicators of CR: referral and adherence, lifestyle, patient-related outcome measures, risk factor control, and medication. Program-level online data are collected every third year.Descriptive data: Based on administrative data, approximately 14,000 patients with CHD are hospitalized at 35 hospitals annually, with 75% receiving one or more outpatient rehabilitation services by 2015. The database has not yet been running for a full year, which explains the use of approximations.Conclusion: The DHRD is an online, national quality improvement database on CR, aimed at patients with CHD. Mandatory registration of data at both patient level as well as program level is done on the database. DHRD aims to systematically monitor the quality of CR over time, in order to improve the quality of CR throughout Denmark to benefit patients. Keywords: secondary prevention, coronary heart disease, cardiovascular prevention, clinical quality registry, clinical database, quality improvement

Introduction: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) profoundly affects physical, psychological, and social aspects of life, yet these issues often remain unaddressed. Patient-Reported Outcomes Measures (PROM) have the potential to address these issues by promoting person-centered communication. However, their impact in COPD practice remains uncertain. This study aimed to investigate how patients with COPD perceive the usefulness of a new holistic PROM for general palliative care (PRO-Pall) before and during outpatient consultations., Methods: Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with patients diagnosed with moderate to very severe COPD, 2-5 days after consultation at a respiratory outpatient clinic in Denmark. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed inductively using qualitative content analysis., Results: Nine patients (five males; mean age: 66 years) participated in the study with four themes emerging: (1) Unlocking thoughts: Completing PRO-Pall stimulated patients' self-reflection, which revealed previously overlooked COPD-related issues, particularly psychosocial challenges. (2) Unmasking concerns: Patients felt encouraged to be honest, rather than concealing their concerns. (3) Breaking the ice: PRO-Pall responses enabled direct questioning by healthcare professionals during consultations, initiating discussions on patients' sensitive yet vital COPD-related matters. (4) Deepening the dialogue: Healthcare professionals' targeted and attentive approach fostered more holistic and meaningful discussions, providing most patients with a deeper understanding of psychosocial issues affecting their well-being., Conclusion: Completing PRO-Pall prior to outpatient consultations prompted most patients with COPD to unveil previously unacknowledged psychosocial challenges. During consultations, addressing these challenges initiated open discussions on individual concerns, enhancing most patients' understanding of the multifaceted burden of COPD., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted without any commercial or financial relationships that could be perceived as potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision., (© 2024 Gronhaug, Farver-Vestergaard, Frølund, Lindström Egholm and Ottesen.)

Objectives: To investigate use of data from a clinical quality registry for cardiac rehabilitation in Denmark, considering the extent to which data are used for local quality improvement and what facilitates the use of these data, with a particular focus on whether there are differences between frontline staff and managers., Design: Cross-sectional nationwide survey study., Setting, Methods and Participants: A previously validated, Swedish questionnaire regarding use of data from clinical quality registries was translated and emailed to frontline staff, mid-level managers and heads of departments (n=175) in all 30 hospital departments participating in the Danish Cardiac Rehabilitation Database. Data were analysed descriptively and through multiple linear regression., Results: Survey response rate was 58% (101/175). Reports of registry use at department level (measured through an index comprising seven items; score min 0, max 7, where a low score indicates less use of data) varied significantly between groups of respondents: frontline staff mean score 1.3 (SD=2.0), mid-level management mean 2.4 (SD=2.3) and heads of departments mean 3.0 (SD=2.5), p=0.006. Overall, department level use of data was positively associated with higher perceived data quality and usefulness (regression coefficient=0.22, p=0.019), management request for data (regression coefficient=0.40, p=0.008) and personal motivation of the respondent (regression coefficient=1.63, p<0.001). Among managers, use of registry data was associated with data quality and usefulness (regression coefficient=0.43, p=0.027), and among frontline staff, reported data use was associated with management involvement in quality improvement work (regression coefficient=0.90, p=0.017) and personal motivation (regression coefficient=1.66, p<0.001)., Conclusions: The findings suggest relatively sparse use of data in local quality improvement work. A complex interplay of factors seem to be associated with data use with varying aspects being of importance for frontline staff and managers., Competing Interests: Competing interests: CLE was functioning as a secretary for the chair of the Danish Cardiac Rehabilitation Database steering committee during work with the study. The study was independent, conducted apart from this role. CH is a board member of the steering committee for the Danish Cardiac Rehabilitation Database., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

A politically initiated national clinical guideline was launched in Denmark in 2013 to improve quality and equality of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) services. The guideline is to be implemented in both hospital and community (municipality) settings due to shared responsibility for provision of CR services. Little is known about implementation outcomes of a guideline in these two settings. We aimed to study this by determining the extent to which Danish CR services in hospitals and municipalities adhered to national recommendations following the launch of the guideline. The study employed an observational, longitudinal design. Data were gathered by a questionnaire survey to compare CR services at baseline, measured in 2013 immediately before the guideline was launched, with CR services at a two-year follow up in 2015. All Danish hospital departments offering CR services (N = 36) and all municipalities (N = 98) were included. Data were analysed using inferential statistics. Hospitals reported improvement of both content and quality of CR services. Municipalities reported no change in content of services, and lower level of fulfilment of one quality aspect. The results suggest that the guideline had different impact in hospitals and municipalities and that the differences in content and quality of services between the two settings increased in the study period, thus contradicting the guideline´s aim of uniform, evidence-based content of CR services across settings., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To assess the frequency of discordance in patient's (PtGA) and physician's (PGA) global assessment, and to investigate whether higher discordance in female patients compared with male patients is associated with the physician's sex in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), and psoriatic arthritis (PsA)., Methods: PtGA, PGA, and other patient-related variables were retrieved from the Danish DANBIO registry, used nationwide to monitor patients with RA, axSpA, and PsA. A questionnaire was sent to all physicians registering in DANBIO (n = 265) regarding individual physician characteristics including sex and age. Discordance was defined as PtGA > 20 mm higher (or lower) than PGA. First encounters between patients and physicians were analyzed using descriptive statistics and mixed model regression analysis., Results: Ninety physicians (34%) returned the questionnaire and were pairwise matched with 10,282 first patient encounters (8300 patients with RA, 524 axSpA, and 1458 PsA). The frequency of discordant (PtGA > PGA) encounters (not including PGA > PtGA seen in < 2%) in RA, axSpA, and PsA was 49.0%, 48.3%, and 56.5%, respectively. Discordance was more common in female patients with high scores on functional disability, pain, and fatigue across the 3 diseases, whereas it was independent of the physician's sex., Conclusion: In this study on Danish patients with RA, axSpA, and PsA, the PtGA was > 20 mm higher than the PGA in about half of the encounters, and more common in female patients of both female and male physicians. This finding highlights one of the challenges in shared decision making.