National Trauma Data Standard (NTDS)

For all practical purposes, the Data Standard (formerly known as the National Trauma Registry or NTR) is a dataset defining standardized data elements collected by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) within the NTDB and ACS Trauma Quality Improvement Program (TQIP). This standardized dataset includes only core variables that would prove useful if aggregated on a national level.

Each individual hospital trauma registry will likely collect additional variables important to patient care. However, the NTDB Data Standard should be collected by all hospitals and submitted to the NTDB. The NTDB is the national repository used to store trauma data from potentially every state in the U.S.

This specific dataset was developed to help hospitals and states collect more comparable elements and aid them in submitting their data to the NTDB and TQIP.

The NTDB Data Standard will be useful in:

• Developing nationwide trauma benchmarks
• Evaluating hospital and trauma systems patient outcomes
• Facilitating research efforts
• Determining national trends in trauma care
• Addressing resources for disaster and domestic preparedness
• Providing valuable information on other issues or areas of need related to trauma care

The NTDB NTDS has two primary goals and objectives:

• Implement an electronic trauma registry system in every local hospital that can collect and use data based on the dataset standard.
• Implement a national trauma database that can receive and use a portion of the state and territorial trauma registry via the XML standard.

Other Objectives

• Simple and convenient electronic database submission process
• Centralized processes and interstate-based tools
• Central repository
• Establishment of good development tools
• Publication of the database to researchers
• The improvement of patient outcomes

1989—National Trauma Data Bank Established

The Board of Regents of the ACS committed significant resources to establish the NTDB.

1995—Original NTDB Elements Defined

The ACS Committee on Trauma (COT) convened a consensus conference with the ATS, HRSA, NHTSA, CDC, and representatives from all trauma registry programs to define the NTDB data elements.

1997—First Call for NTDB Data

1999—Database Analysis

2001—First NTDB Annual Report Released

2002—Rapid Growth of the NTDB

2003—Expanded Web Presence

2004—One-Million Record Mark

The NTBD reaches the one-million record mark and begins a project on data element standardization.

2005—National Sample Project

The NTDB and the CDC collaborate on the National Sample Project.

2006—New Data Dictionary Released

The NTDB releases the National Trauma Data Standard (formerly National Trauma Registry) data dictionary, developed in collaboration with HRSA, state trauma managers, trauma registry vendors, and other stakeholders in the trauma community.

2007—NTDS Data Collection Commenced

2009—TQIP Pilot Launched

2010—TQIP Began

2012—TQIP Process Measures Added

2014—First NTDS Pilot Project

2014—Five-Million Records Mark Surpassed

2015—Piloted Fields Added

2015—Aligned Hospital Complications and Co-Morbid Conditions

Began aligning Hospital Complications and Co-Morbid Conditions with external sources to assist in the standardization of data collection and reporting.

2017—10th Anniversary of the NTDS

Business Structure and Management Assistance

The dataset will provide a business model for the injury community. This model will help develop:

• Protocols that are justified by factual evidence
• Budgets that can be defended by actual data
• A method to analyze performance of trauma services
• State-to-state comparison models
• Benchmarks for standards of care

Drive Policy and Funding

The dataset will allow hospitals to:

• Determine areas for potential QA intervention
• Provide data to justify new funding or support existing programs
• Provide a basis for ongoing funding support

Education—Trauma Training and Curricula

The dataset promotes the importance of trauma care in the health care system by:

• Providing a better understanding of injury trends
• Improving the quality of trauma treatment
• Modifying the existing injury prevention education and other programs

Evaluating Patient and Injury Outcomes

The dataset will help:

• Establish reliable outcome measures
• Monitor trauma systems
• Determine which treatments are effective
• Identify and reduce errors
• Identify unmet needs and priorities
• Focus on data-driven decision making
• Evaluate patients throughout the spectrum of care

Evaluating Resources for Disaster and Domestic Preparedness

The dataset will provide opportunities for improvement of current disaster policies, procedures, and preparedness by:

• Providing further analysis tools for FEMA and other organizations
• Providing better data for disaster research

Facilitating Research Efforts

The dataset will provide access to a national trauma database and Trauma Quality Improvement Program, which will:

• Identify national trends
• Provide a large sample of standardized data
• Allow opportunities to generate research hypotheses
• Facilitate national benchmarking