NHS National Audit of Cardiac Rehabilitation

NACR
NHS Digital

               

How to Use NACR

How to Submit Data

There are two ways in which you can submit patient data to the NACR:

(a) By entering data directly into the national database.

(b) By entering data directly into a local database (clinical management system) and submit data to the NACR via File Submission Upload.

A local database can be defined as a database designed in-house (i.e. in Microsoft Access or Excel format), a hospital system (i.e. PAS) or a commercial system that has been developed by a third party and purchased by your organisation (i.e.Solus, PATS, Dendrite, SystmOne).

Both methods require at least one person in your team to be registered to access the NACR database - to do this, you will need to complete a User Registration form (available on our User Resources section http://www.cardiacrehabilitation.org.uk/downloads.htm), and this will need to be authorised by your Caldicott Guardian. There is no limit to the number of staff you can register to access NACR, and no cost or licensing.

The NACR database can be found at https://clinicalaudit.hscic.gov.uk/


Using File Submission ('Importing')

I would like to continue using our local database, how can I submit the NACR data to NHS Digital?

If you are using a database that has been designed in-house (eg. Microsoft Access or Excel) you will have to;

(a) ensure that all of the required dataset fields are contained in the local database

(b) contact your IM&T department and ask them to write an export routine so that the patient data can be exported from the local database in the correct format

Who is responsible for setting up the file submission?

If the local database is an in-house database then this should be done by your IM&T department or those responsible for developing the database.

If the local database is one that has been purchased from a third party then you should enquire whether there is already facility available to upload to NACR. Enquiries should be made directly with the third party responsible for developing the database. The NACR project team may be able to assist with information regarding some more widely used programmes.

What information is needed?

Either the IM&T department or third party suppliers who design the files to be submitted to NHS Digital must construct the data in a specific format, as comma separated value (CSV) files. The required format is available in the User Downloads section (Dataset for Importers) .

Once the file is available, how do I send the data to NHS Digital?

The patient data should be extracted from your database, and imported into the national database using the 'File Submission Dashboard' section of NACR. There is a short 'Importing User Guide' available in the User Downloads section of the website.

How often to upload data

The submission of patient data can be done daily, weekly or monthly. This should be agreed with whoever is responsible for exporting and importing the data within your organisation. Ideally, we would recommend at least monthly.

Any questions with using the NACR database, please contact the audit team:
Tel: 01904 321326
Email: nerina.onion@york.ac.uk


 The University of York