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ℹ️ Introduction
This article explains how to use the Ardens resources to support the identification, diagnosis, review and ongoing management of patients with Atrial Fibrillation (AF). By the end of this article, you will understand how to use the Ardens templates and reports to support structured AF care and identify patients who may require further assessment or review.
Background
Patients with AF require regular assessment and review to support appropriate diagnosis, treatment and ongoing management. Structured consultations help practices record clinical information consistently, support self-management and identify patients who may benefit from further investigation, changes to treatment or additional support.
How Ardens Can Help
Ardens provides a range of AF resources to support clinicians throughout the patient pathway, including:
AF template to support structured assessment, diagnosis and review
Reports to identify patients requiring assessment, review or follow-up
Clinical alerts and prompts to support appropriate management
Formulary guidance to support medication review and prescribing
Links to relevant clinical and patient resources to support ongoing AF care
How to Access
🔎 Screening
Health Checks
AF may be identified during routine health checks, opportunistic consultations or other clinical encounters where a patient's symptoms or clinical findings prompt further assessment.
The Ardens resources can support practices in identifying patients who may require further assessment and help clinicians record relevant findings during a consultation.
Where AF is suspected, clinicians should undertake appropriate clinical assessment and investigations in line with current guidance and local protocols. A suspected condition should not be recorded as a confirmed diagnosis without appropriate clinical assessment.
🧑⚕️ Presentation
Possible Conditions
The possible condition templates provide information and tools to help clinicians consider a potential diagnosis of AF and identify patients who may require further investigation.
Each template includes the presentation, possible risk factors, any red flags and relevant scored assessment tools.
📋 Diagnosis
Case Finding
The Case Finding reports can be used to identify patients who may have undiagnosed AF or who require further clinical assessment. They help practices highlight patients who may benefit from further investigation, supporting clinicians in determining whether additional assessment is appropriate.
The reports can be used as part of ongoing practice reviews to identify patients who may otherwise have gone unrecognised and to help inform decisions about further investigation.
Diagnosis
For patients who do not yet have a confirmed AF diagnosis, the Diagnosis page of the AF template supports the review and recording of relevant investigations as part of the clinical assessment process.
Register
For patients with AF, the AF Registers provide an overview of the practice’s AF population, supporting ongoing review and monitoring.
Patients can be reviewed according to a range of criteria, including:
Diagnosis
Medication
Disease severity
Other relevant clinical information
This allows practices to review their AF population, monitor relevant clinical information and identify patients who may benefit from further review or intervention.
Case Finding
Identify Patients
Go to Population Reporting > Ardens Searches > 5.19 Contracts - QOF 2026-27 > Conditions > 1. Case Finders > CVRM I AF
Once the reports have been run, the first report will display the total number of patients not included on that particular QOF register, this is then further narrowed down by particular criteria
Review Patients
Select the appropriate report, and click View Results on the EMIS Ribbon
Review the details in the report and further investigate in the patient record, adding an diagnosis code if appropriate
Action Patients
The Ardens 'QOF Casefinders - Records Review Protocol' allows clinicians to record action has been taken for the patient This is useful to make other colleagues aware the patient record has been review when viewing the case finder reports.
Once the record has been reviewed, an if appropriate a diagnosis code added, press F12 on your keyboard and launch the QOF Casefinders - Records Review Protocol (access this support article on how to add the launcher to your F12)
Select the relevant option depending on what action has been taken. This will apply the code in the record and be visible when viewing the case finder reports
⚠️Please note: Case Finding reports are also available in the 4.10 Conditions - Cardiovascular folder
Diagnosis
Registers
🩺 Management
Review
The AF template supports the ongoing monitoring and management of patients with AF. It guides clinicians through the relevant monitoring requirements, structured clinical coding and management planning, helping ensure key clinical information is reviewed and recorded consistently as part of a comprehensive review.
For practices that prefer a combined approach, the Ardens Annual LTC Recall System allows patients with multiple long-term conditions, including AF, to be reviewed together using the LTC Review templates. Access this support article for further guidance.
Formulary
Formularies provide access to relevant prescribing guidance to support the management of patients with AF. It can be used to review recommended medications and treatment options in line with best practice guidance, helping clinicians make informed prescribing decisions based on the patient’s clinical needs.
Referral
The Referral page of the AF template supports the referral of patients for further assessment, specialist input or additional care where required. It can be used to access relevant referral information and guidance, helping clinicians understand when a referral may be appropriate and support the next steps in the patient’s care.
⚠️ Please note: Practices should follow their local processes for generating referral documents and sending referrals once the template has been saved.
📈 Evaluate
Following a consultation, Ardens reports can be used to monitor AF activity, identify patients who require further follow-up and support practices in evaluating the quality of Cardiovascular care.
Performance Indicators
The Performance Indicators reports help practices monitor their performance against relevant AF indicators and review progress against expected standards. Use these reports to understand current performance, identify areas where further action may be needed and monitor progress over time.
Activity
The Activity reports provide an overview of recorded AF-related activity within the practice. They can be used to review activity completed, monitor progress and identify areas where further work may be required. Use these reports to support ongoing monitoring of AF care and review whether relevant activity is being recorded.
Insights
Ardens Manager provides dashboards and data insights to help practices understand their AF population, monitor performance and identify opportunities for improvement.
Available to Ardens Manager National Subscribers the dashboards allow users to explore patient data, review performance against indicators and identify areas where further investigation or action may be beneficial. Detailed report breakdowns and trends over time can also support informed decision-making and help practices target reviews and interventions effectively.
❓ FAQs
Can the AF template be used during an opportunistic consultation?
Yes. The AF templates can be launched from any consultation to record a structured assessment.
Are the templates aligned with national guidance?
Yes. The templates are designed to support national guidance and encourage consistent clinical recording.
Can the reports identify patients who may require further assessment?
Yes. The relevant Case Finding reports can help identify patients whose records may warrant further investigation. Each patient should be assessed individually before any diagnosis or management changes are made.
Can I use the resources to monitor AF reviews across the practice?
Yes. The Activity and Register reports provide an overview of AF prevalence, consultations and outstanding work.
Why does a patient still appear on an AF report after coding changes?
Check which type of report you are using first. Register reports, QOF/outstanding reports, case finders and recall workflows use different logic, so the same patient may appear differently in each. If a diagnosis has been entered in error or resolved, update the relevant coding and then rerun the current patient/report view.