The Czech Ministry of Health has launched open data on stroke care through its Quality Indicators Portal, tracking the full treatment pathway from emergency response to hospital outcomes.
Centres falling below benchmarks must conduct self-assessments and corrective actions.
The country’s strong stroke care performance is attributed to systematic quality monitoring and transparent publication of facility-level results, helping identify gaps, improve care organisation, and support better patient survival and recovery.
“I consider open data to be one of the key tools of modern healthcare. I want the Ministry of Health to communicate care outcomes regularly, clearly and transparently, because that is the only way we can have a fact-based debate about where things are working well and where the system still needs improvement. Data help us target changes where they bring the greatest benefit to patients — to speed up treatment, improve its quality, and at the same time plan care in the regions more effectively. I will therefore continue to pursue openness going forward,” said Minister of Health Adam Vojtěch.
To ensure fair comparison, results across facilities are standardised with regard to patients’ age and the severity of their condition at admission. This makes it possible to objectively assess the actual quality of care. Data analyses also reveal regional differences in the availability of centres. For example, longer transport times in the northeastern part of Prague led to the opening of a new stroke centre at Na Bulovce Hospital. Similar measures are being prepared in other regions.
“Since this year, individual centres can see their results completely openly in comparison with other centres as well as with the national average. It is important to realise that a worse indicator value does not necessarily mean a problem on the provider’s side — it may be caused by shortcomings in how the healthcare system as a whole is set up. When requesting self-assessments, we therefore ask centres to tell us where, conversely, we — from the Ministry of Health and health insurance funds — can help them improve outcomes,” explains Marian Rybář, data analyst at the Ministry of Health.
The Ministry also notes that smaller differences in indicators may be linked to data inaccuracies or administrative factors. The purpose of open data is therefore not to look for culprits, but to identify causes and support system improvement.
Systematic quality monitoring is already delivering concrete results: faster treatment initiation, broader availability of modern methods, and a decline in mortality and subsequent disability. The Czech model is therefore often cited internationally as an example of good practice. The professional community and patient organisations also see clear value in open data.
“The committee of our cerebrovascular society strongly supports the Ministry of Health’s initiative to publish results down to the level of individual centres, and we have long been actively involved in the broader quality-measurement initiative. Data must be read with understanding and in context. They are not a whip, but a compass. They help set the direction the system should take in the long term,” says Aleš Tomek, Chair of the Cerebrovascular Section of the Czech Neurological Society.
“We are aware of how important open data are. That is why we are coming forward with our own initiative, Data for Patients, and are also working on a new portal that will provide patients with information in the most understandable form possible,” says Zlata Kasová, Director of the National Association of Patient Organisations.
Open data are thus becoming a concrete and practical tool contributing to safer, more accessible and more efficient healthcare. They enable healthcare providers to improve quality of care, help patients and their families better navigate treatment options, and support long-term health policy planning at national level.
11.02.2026.
SOURCE
Když data zachraňují životy: Česko otevírá výsledky léčby cévních mozkových příhod
Photo: Czech Ministry of Health
