Database / About
Vision Statement
As a highly technical and specialised area of medicine, cardiothoracic surgery is constantly advancing in techniques and knowledge base. Integral to this advancement is the requirement to ensure the attainment and maintenance of best practice at an individual and national level.
The Australian and New Zealand Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons (ANZSCTS) views routine systematic collection of data related to each surgical procedure and the monitoring of that data as the cornerstone of best practice. Surgical performance data is communicated to the Australian cardiac surgery community in the hope that knowledge of performance will lead to improved outcomes. The ANZSCTS Database Steering Committee welcomes feedback from participating sites about how to improve program initiatives.
Participating Sites
There are currently 26 public, and 35 private hospitals contributing to the ANZSCTS Cardiac Surgery Database.

Number of cardiac surgeries per year
Number of surgeries captured in database
Number of participating sites
Governance
The ANZSCTS Cardiac Surgery Database is an initiative of ANZSCTS. The society established the Australasian Cardiac Surgery Research Institution Limited (ACSRI Ltd) to manage the business aspects of the program. The responsibilities of governance are divided between specialised committees, depicted below.
The Steering Committee provides strategic decision-making activities and oversees successful delivery of the project. The Research Committee reviews all requests for data access and use for research purposes, and the Peer Review and Quality Assurance Committee liaises with sites who do not meet performance standards to strategise methods of improvement.
The Centre of Cardiovascular Research and Education in Therapeutics (CCRET), Monash University, manages and maintains the operations of the Database.

Steering Committee
A/Prof Julie Mundy
Chair, ANZSCTS Database SC
A/Prof Siven Seevanayagam
Deputy Chair, ANZSCTS Database SC / ANZSCTS Surgeon
Director Cardiothoracic Surgery, Austin Health
Prof Christopher Reid
Data Custodian, ANZSCTS Database / Epidemiologist
Co-Director, Centre of Cardiovascular Research and Education in Therapeutics, Monash University
Prof Julian Smith
Chair, ASCRI Ltd & ANZSCTS Surgeon
Head, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery & Clinical Director, Specialty Program, Monash Medical Centre
Mr Gil Shardey
Former Chair, ANZSCTS Database SC
Cardiac Surgeon, Cabrini Health
Mr Andrew Newcomb
ANZSCTS Surgeon
A/Prof Jurgen Passage
ANZSCTS Surgeon
Mr Hugh Wolfenden
ANZSCTS Surgeon
Mr Gareth Crouch
ANZSCTS Surgeon
Dr Christopher Cole
ANZSCTS Surgeon
Cardiothoracic Surgeon, Princess Alexandra Hospital
Prof Rob Baker
Director of Cardiac Surgery Research & Perfusion, Flinders Medical Centre
Mr Ashutosh Hardikar
ANZSCTS Surgeon
Dr Alastair McGeorge
Cardiac Anaesthetist & Intensivist, Auckland City Hospital
Prof Susannah Ahern
Head, Clinical Outcomes Data Reporting and Research Program
School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University
Mr Michael Worthington
ANZSCTS Surgeon
Director Cardiothoracic Surgery, Royal Adelaide Hospital
A/Prof Rochelle Wynne
Data Manager
Associate Professor, Deakin University
Mr Andrew Cochrane
ANZSCTS Surgeon
Mr Jim Doumtses
Senior Project Officer, System Performance, System Safety Partner
Safer Care Victoria
Dr Jenni Williams-Spence
Program Manager / Research Fellow
ANZSCTS Database Program
Dr Lavinia Tran
Program Manager (Research & Projects)
ANZSCTS Database Program
Ms Angela Brennan
Program Manager / Senior Research Fellow
Cardiac Registries / Centre of Cardiovascular Research and Education in Therapeutics, Monash University
Mr Noah Solman
Program Coordinator
ANZSCTS Database Program
Mrs Nicole Marrow
Program Coordinator
ANZSCTS Database Program
Ms Jenna McLaren
Program Coordinator
ANZSCTS Database Program
Mr Ashley Fletcher
Senior Project Officer
ANZSCTS Database Program