Cardiac Network
Co-Chairs: John Gunning & Trish Davidson
Cardiac Network
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in Australia and accounted for 38% of deaths in 2002. Cardiovascular disease is also the leading cause of disability for Australians and in 1993-94 it accounted for 12% of the total recurrent health expenditure. Many cardiovascular diseases are preventable and approximately 80% of the population have 3 or more modifiable risk factors such as smoking, physical inactivity, poor diet and being overweight. Despite improvements over the last few decades, the health and economic burden of cardiovascular disease exceeds that of any other condition.
The Agency for Clinical Innovation’s (ACI) Cardiac Network was established in 2002. It’s role is to improve access to high quality cardiac services and better health outcomes for people who ar diagnosed with cardiac conditions in NSW by:
1 Promoting robust communication between clinicians, consumers, non-governmental agencies, academics and the NSW Health Department
2 Developing and implementing evidence-based models of care and guidelines to support ongoing improvement in the standards and quality of care provided by health practitioners
3 Participating in research to inform clinical practice and assist in planning and resourcing the health system in future years.