PC⁴, the pediatric cardiac critical care consortium, is a collaborative of hospitals that work together to improve outcomes for patients with critical heart disease. We share data about how
our intensive care units perform in order to find ways to improve outcomes across the
collaborative. In addition to working together and sharing data, we also work to understand
how various factors might affect how patients best recover from critical illness. We have found
that hospitals who participate in PC⁴ have better outcomes for their patients over time,
including higher survival rates, and shorter times in the hospital and/or on the ventilator.

Any patients admitted to the cardiac intensive care unit in a PC⁴ participating hospital are
automatically included as a routine part of quality improvement. Any specific quality improvement activities that each hospital participates in are applied equally to all eligible patients.

PC⁴ collects de-identified data about a patient and their hospitalization course. This includes
data about types of heart disease, types of surgery and other procedures, length of time in the
ICU or on various ICU-therapies, such as ventilators. It also includes data about patient
outcomes, complications, and risk factors for adverse events.

The de-identified data are used to show how well a hospital is performing in their cardiac
intensive care unit. Based on this data, a hospital that is performing well in a certain area can
share what they are doing with hospitals that may not be performing as well so that everyone
can improve together. The data is also used to research and create risk-adjustment algorithms,
which help a hospital better understand how well they are performing in the context of how
complex or sick their patients are.

There are various committees within PC⁴ that parents or family members can join. If you have an interest in getting more involved, please reach out to the PC⁴ Coordinating Center on the “Contact” page.