THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR CARDIOVASCULAR OUTCOMES RESEARCH We encourage research using real world data to complement and refine the lessons learnt from randomised clinical trials. We collect clinical information from UK hospitals into secure registries established by the cardiovascular specialist societies. We help the NHS, the government and regulatory bodies improve quality of care by checking that the care received by heart disease patients meets good practice standards. We do this by conducting clinical audit and by comparing patient outcomes, such as casemix-adjusted survival and readmission rates.