Update: The Paul Coverdell Georgia Stroke Registry Pilot Prototype.

Georgia and 7 other states are participating in statewide stroke registry programs to collect information about patients who are admitted to hospitals with acute stroke symptoms. ‘‘This will allow us to learn more about the impact of stroke and improve the quality of care at the participating hospitals,’’ Dr. Michael Frankel said. ‘‘This is the first time anyone has ever attempted to collect data on a large population of people suffering from stroke.’’ Dr. Frankel is principal investigator for the Georgia study, which was funded for 2 years by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to honor the late US Sen. Paul Coverdell of Georgia and others who have died or been disabled from stroke. Congress allocated the money for the Paul Coverdell National Acute Stroke Registry. ‘‘Stroke is the leading cause of adult disability and the number 3 cause of death in America, after heart disease and cancer,’’ Dr. Frankel said. ‘‘Georgia is located in an area known as the ‘stroke belt.’ That means we record a higher incidence of death and disability due to stroke.’’ Georgia and 3 other states—Massachusetts, Michigan, and Ohio—received grants in 2001 to create stroke registry prototypes. Four additional states—California, Illinois, North Carolina, and Oregon—were funded in 2002. ‘‘All of these states are designing their versions of stroke registries and ways to improve health care,’’ Dr. Frankel said. The Paul Coverdell Georgia Stroke Registry Pilot Prototype involves close collaboration of Georgia hospitals, Emory University (the neurology department and the School of Public Health), the Grady Health System, the Georgia Medical Care Foundation (peer review), the Georgia Hospital Association, the Georgia Division of Public Health, and the American Stroke Association (a division of the American Heart Association). Dr. Frankel and his team randomly selected 46 hospitals to participate in the stroke registry out of 160 hospitals in Georgia. The hospitals were asked to submit anonymous information about patients, including their age, gender, race, type and severity of stroke, length of hospital stay, and treatment. The hospitals will not be identified but they will be able to see how their stroke care compares to other hospitals throughout the state. The 4 phases of the project include hospital recruitment; data collection, analysis and feedback to hospitals; quality improvement intervention; and assessment/modification of quality improvement strategies. ‘‘We are assessing the quality of care at each participating hospital, but the information is for that hospital’s eyes only,’’ Dr. Frankel said. ‘‘We provide feedback to the hospitals as the quality of care varies. The hospitals receive educational materials based on national guidelines for the care of patients with acute stroke that they use to improve the quality of care and prevent additional strokes.’’ During the data collection phase, the following steps were taken: