Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 16 June 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health

Cardiovascular Health Policy: Discussion

Mr. Neil Johnson:

I will respond to that. Registries are clearly an issue, but it is more about the registry. It is a central health record. In cardiovascular disease, comorbidities are quite significant and what is happening, unfortunately, are silos of care. This is why we have a messy situation. The Deputy mentioned diabetes, for example, which is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The number of individuals being treated for diabetes whose cardio risk factors are not being managed at all is quite disturbing. If there was some central health record that tracked these comorbidities, clinicians would be alerted and prompted to look at a more integrated care approach. The registries are needed first of all to understand the numbers and who has what and how many have it. However, more importantly, we need some central health record, which we do not have, that allows tracking of comorbidities to prompt integrated care. That is not happening, unfortunately, in cardiovascular disease.