5Schedule

5 Schedule

The quality assurance activity described in the Schedule to this declaration is, to the extent that the quality assurance activity relates to health services provided in Australia, declared to be a quality assurance activity to which Part VC of the Health Insurance Act 1973 applies.

Schedule 1—Description of quality assurance activity

1 Name of activity

Australasian Registry of Electrocardiograms in National Athletes (ARENA)

2 Description of activity

This declaration applies to the Australasian Registry of Electrocardiograms in National Athletes (ARENA).

This quality assurance activity consists of a registry of athlete screening data, including electrocardiograms (ECGs) and other cardiac tests, collected in Australasia. All elite sporting organisations in Australia conducting cardiac screening of athletes are eligible to participate and provide data.

The activity provides a long-term data repository to improve our understanding of ECG interpretation and cardiac diagnoses, and the rates of major cardiovascular outcomes in screened athletes.

The activity is conducted by the University of Sydney. The University of Sydney has contracted the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) Registry Centre to host ARENA and to provide ongoing advice with registry operations and governance. ARENA is funded by National Health and Medical Research Council grants.

ARENA was developed in collaboration with sporting bodies, team physicians, and players association representatives. Data is entered into the registry via a database, securely stored at SAHMRI, and de-identified datasets are developed for use for analysis, recommendations, and research purposes, with the results to be published.

The analysis of national level data contained in ARENA will be used to inform improvements to screening policies and guidelines, particularly for underrepresented athlete groups like female athletes and Indigenous populations, including to improve the accuracy of athlete ECG interpretation.

The disclosure of information related to the activity will use de-identified and aggregated data to produce reports and disseminate information in the following ways:

specific journal publications; and
publication data in annual reports on the ARENA website; and
presentations at annual conferences which include suggested improvements and recommendations in practice.