Image: Anna Bess Brown, executive director of the Justus-Warren Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Task Force, speaks at the launch of the N.C. Stroke Registry on Feb. 15.
On Feb. 15, the N.C. Health Information Exchange Authority launched the North Carolina Stroke Registry, which contains demographic and clinical data on stroke patients in North Carolina. The N.C. Division of Public Health will use the registry to ensure that all stroke patients in the state receive the best standard of care, regardless of race, ethnicity or geographic distance.
The Stroke Registry will help the Division of Public Health to identify gaps in care, disparities in care and under-resourced areas – particularly communities without larger hospitals or health systems. The registry will also help identify possible solutions, such as training for providers and more resources for hospitals.
"We want you to be taken care of in the best way possible anywhere you have a stroke in North Carolina," Anna Bess Brown, executive director of the Justus-Warren Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Task Force, said. "If you live an hour away from a hospital, that is significant, and time is brain."
The registry uses data from more than 9,000 medical facilities connected to NC HealthConnex, the statewide health information exchange operated by NC HIEA. The dashboard visualizes stroke prevalence by county and ZIP code, analysis of comorbidities and demographic trends, such as race and age.
The data is aggregated so individual patients cannot be identified. Access to the registry is restricted to authorized Division of Public Health employees.