The American College of Cardiology's Adult Congenital and Pediatric Cardiology Quality Network (ACPC QNet) is a national network of congenital heart disease (CHD) centers dedicated to collecting and sharing data, collaborating, and developing best practices for CHD patients. The network offers data aggregation, benchmarking to improve patient care, and collaborative quality improvement. There are currently 28 sites participating in ACPC Quality Network, representing academic and private practice with a total of five quarters of data collection.

The Quality Network was developed to operationalize a subset of ACPC quality metrics allowing participating centers to compare their performance anonymously across a variety of quality metrics. Participating sites select from available metrics and submit data on a quarterly schedule. A list of the current metrics is available at www.acc.org/qnet. More information about the development of the network's ambulatory pediatric quality metrics is available here.

To augment the data collection and reporting activities, the ACPC Section sponsors a series of activities to facilitate discussion between participating Quality Network centers. It is expected that these discussions will lead to increased sharing of current practices and ultimately improve practices in specific areas across the CHD field. Activities promoting collaborative quality improvement include in-person meetings at ACC's Annual Scientific Session, webinars, or in-person learning sessions, as well as a dedicated Listserve.

Two of the Quality Network metrics—counseling for patients with BMI >85% and assessment of 22q11 status in tetralogy of Fallot patients—have been approved by the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) as a Quality Improvement Activity. Physicians at participating Quality Network centers meeting meaningful participation requirements outlined by ACC and the ABP can earn Part IV Maintenance of Certification by collecting and submitting data for these two metrics.

Enrollment in the ACPC Quality Network is available to pediatric cardiology and adult congenital heart disease practices who have at least one FACC within the practice.

For more information about the ACPC Quality Network, including current metrics and details about earning MOC Part IV credit, visit www.acc.org/qnet, or email ACPCQNet@acc.org for any questions.

Keywords: Body Mass Index, Cardiology, Child, Heart Defects, Congenital, Pediatrics, Patient Care, Quality Improvement

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