Information for clinical teams
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Quality improvement
NICOR releases a set of quality improvement metrics each year for the following each clinical registry. They are all available to view on the National Cardiac Audit Programme Data sets page.
To ensure data security, it is essential that hospitals submit their data via the NICOR secure web portal. Please do not send any patient-identifiable information via email. Guidance on how and where to submit hospital data is provided below.
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Data submissions
The collection and storage of patient information is a core function of NICOR and is vital for the production of our reports and analyses.
We know that this data is important and have provided additional information on how to submit data to NICOR, and how we manage this data. Furthermore, our datasets are available to download.
The information provided in this section is specifically for those involved in collecting, inputting and analysing data.
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Data submission deadlines 2025/26
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Getting started
Data is submitted to the audits by direct entry into the collection system, via the secure web portal, or by exporting data collected from a local data collection system.
Audit data should be submitted to NICOR as frequently. We recommend regular – ideally monthly – data submissions. If you are using a local database within your organisation to collect data, an upload schedule should be agreed with whoever is responsible for exporting and importing the data.
Our secure web portal allows users to submit data directly to our servers.
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NICOR secure web portal
To start submitting data to the NICOR audits, you will need access to our secure web portal. Contact the NICOR helpdesk to register via email: nicor.helpdesk@nhs.net
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Entering data
Datasets and data definitions for each of the audits can be found on the datasets page.
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Importing data
A CSV line (record) consists of variables (fields) containing information separated by commas and enclosed by double-quotes. NICOR accepts either the short code or the long code listed in the datasets for import.
File formats for each of the NICOR datasets are as follows:
- If you wish to import data directly into the NICOR databases, your local collection system must be capable of generating an export file in CSV (Comma Separated Value) format, which is then uploaded to the NICOR databases using the import routine.
- If you have any questions about the data definitions or data entry process for a particular audit, please email the audit enquiries inbox
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NICOR data collection system
Users of the system connect to the data collection system via the Health and Social Care Network (HSCN) or the internet via an internet service provider.
Opening a database allows users to see all the documents they are authorised to, create new documents, or edit existing information. Once data has been entered it is synchronised with the central system, it is then analysed to provide feedback, and subsequently reported back to the user.
