Facilitating national CKD surveillance utilising Audit4

One objective of the proposed National CKD Surveillance Network is to employ efficient mechanisms to access data of CKD patients. The use of already-collected information from existing systems is one of its strategies. Audit4 software, developed by Software for Specialists (S4S), is a clinical management system used by at least forty nephrologists, in public and private practice, across Australia. Many have previously collaborated in the eKiDNAA CKD research consortium, but data for their analyses needed to be extracted by S4S itself, and at a cost.

Project aim

To describe the availability of an extraction tool which has been developed to access data on CKD patients from existing Audit4 databases, and its potential use for CKD surveillance purposes.

Methods

Funded by a grant from Amgen Australia, the NHMRC CKD.CRE have contracted with S4S to develop a desk-top extraction tool for use by individual practitioners to obtain summary data from Audit 4 in their practices. The tool can extract most variables pertinent to surveillance of CKD, including patient demographic profiles, clinical features, pathology results, medications, investigations, procedures, diagnoses, hospital visits, outcomes, renal replacement therapy [RRT] and deaths, and is potentially further adaptable. The tool has been successfully applied to Audit4 data in one North Sydney practice, with longitudinal data on about 3,905 patients quickly and easily accessed. That information is currently planned for analysis, with an Ethics application in the process of submission (Nov 2017).

Discussion

This data extraction tool is free for all Audit 4 users. It can be used for audit, tracking and quality control purposes, in individual practices. The potential for data on patients starting RRT to flow to ANZDATA is under discussion. Furthermore, the tool also offers a mechanism for contributing data for collaborative CKD research, including for CKD surveillance.

Software4Specialists

Software for Specialists (S4S) is an Australian based company which exclusively develops clinical applications for the individual medical and surgical specialities. Their principal product, Audit4, is a comprehensive clinical management system, which significantly improves practice efficiency saving time and costs. http://www.s4s.com.au/