A Wayne State University School of Medicine neurologist helped formulate the development of treatment and research standards and definitions for peripheral atherosclerotic vascular disease.

Seemant Chaturvedi, M.D., F.A.H.A., F.A.A.N., of the Wayne State University Physician Group and professor of Neurology for the School of Medicine, represented the American Academy of Neurology on a special writing group convened by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association to establish the standards. The standards were published on line in the AHA journal Circulation on Dec. 5.

"This paper will help clinical researchers establish the framework for how best to conduct studies on assessing the value of treatments for patients with carotid artery stenosis or stenosis of other major non-coronary vessels," said Dr. Chaturvedi, who also serves as director of the Wayne State University/Detroit Medical Center Stroke Program.

The ACCF and the AHA determined that it was necessary to define and disseminate clinical data standards and definitions to foster their missions of fostering optimal cardiovascular care and disease prevention. Given the fact that multiple medical fields are involved in the evaluation and management of patients with Peripheral Atherosclerotic Vascular Disease, and given that developments in relevant research and technology are emerging rapidly, Dr. Chaturvedi said, the organizations felt the standards are necessary to ensure optimal documentation and communication between health care providers, researchers, policy makers and payers.

The goals of the new clinical data standards include establishing a “consistent, interoperable and universal clinical vocabulary as a foundation to both clinical care and clinical research,” as well as promoting the implementation and use of electronic health records and facilitating the exchange of data.

Dr. Chaturvedi said the definitions and standards will assist in the development of “structured reporting systems and the organization and design of electronic medical information systems, including clinical database and decision support tools. Standardizing the data will facilitate larger analyses of research data, he said.