STS HIPAA Information:
HIPAA Information
STS National Database
The following document, STS National Database and Outcomes Program Participation Manual, provides an excellent introduction to the STS National Database and considerations regarding participants.
STS National Database and Outcomes Program Participation Manual 
STS National Database Brochures
Adult Cardiac - Participation Brochure - Text Version
General Thoracic - Participation Brochure - Text version
Join the General Thoracic Surgery Database Flyer
Congenital Heart Surgery - Participation Brochure - Text version
STEPS TO PARTICIPATION IN THE STS NATIONAL DATABASE
STEP 1 - Complete an STS Contact Form
Each potential participant will need to complete a Participant Contact Form and submit it to the STS. The Contact Form provides STS with basic demographic information for all individuals who will be involved in the database.
The information required on the Contact Form is as follows:
1) Identification of the STS software vendor selected
2) Identification and demographic information for:
Primary Data and File Manager
Backup Data and File Manager
Data Quality Report Recipient
National Report Recipient
Billing Contact
Contract Contact
Surgeon Representative
Participant Surgeons
The Contact Form and a form describing the roles of all the parties can be accessed using the link below:
STS Participant Contact Form & Description of Roles
Once STS receives your Participant Contact Form, the Participation Agreement and Business Associate and Data Use Agreement will be sent to you.
Note for Current Participants: If you are already an active participant in the STS National Database and want to update your surgeon list, submit a Schedule A signature sheet along with the contact form above for each surgeon being added:
SCHEDULE A - Surgeon Signature Sheet
Examples of completed agreements are listed below:
Agreement Samples
For additional assistance or to mail the executed agreements use the STS contact information below:
Gerard Tarafa
Operations Administrator, STS National Database and Quality Initiatives
The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
633 North Saint Clair Street, Suite 2320
Chicago, IL 60611
Phone: 312/202-5833
Fax: 312/202-5867
gtarafa@sts.org
Once signed by both parties, a copy of the agreement will be returned to you.
Step 3 - Purchase STS Certified or Harvest Compliant Software
Each potential STS National Database participant will need to purchase commercial software in order to submit its surgical procedures to the STS data warehouse and analysis center, Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI).
The link below provides contact information for all the software vendors who offer STS Certified Software or STS Harvest Compliant Software for each of the three STS National Databases: Adult Cardiac Surgery Database, General Thoracic Surgery Database, and Congenital Heart Surgery Database.
Information on all software vendors is located on the following link:
STS National Database Software Vendor Information
Step 4 - Harvest Submission
Each of the three STS National Databases, Adult Cardiac Surgery Database, General Thoracic Surgery Database, and the Congenital Heart Surgery Database has its respective timeline for data harvests.
The links below outline the timeline for each of the three databases:
Adult Cardiac Surgery Harvest Timeline
Once your data have been submitted to DCRI, a Data Quality Report (DQR) will be sent to the individual identified as your DQR Recipient. For any questions related to this report or your clinical data submission, please contact your respective Clinical Data Specialist at DCRI.
The Clinical Data Specialists (CDS) at DCRI are assigned by state:
Adult Cardiac Surgery Database:
Haywood A. Allen, Jr. - haywood.allen@duke.edu
Carolyn Lumpkins - carolyn.lumpkins@duke.edu
Carol Elliot - carol.elliott@duke.edu
General Thoracic Surgery Database and Congenital Heart Surgery Database (all states):
Leigh Ann Jones - leigh.jones@duke.edu - Primary CDS
Carol Elliot - carol.elliott@duke.edu - Backup CDS
Select the link below to open a map of the US to identify your Clinical Data Specialist for the Adult Cardiac Surgery Database:
Map of DCRI Clinical Data Specialists
For additional harvest information, to access the data collection form, or to review the data specifications for any of the three databases, please refer to www.sts.org/datamanager.
Contact STS:
You are always welcome to contact Gerry Tarafa at GTarafa@sts.org or 312/202-5833 for guidance through the participation process.
