Clinical database Childrens HIV and Aids Reporting System (CHARS)

Clinical databases are important to specialised service commissioning because population is a requirement of specialised providers (via clinical service specifications) and, in some cases, the clinical databases / registries hold clinical details not located in other information systems, aiding identification of specialised service activity.

The Children's HIV and AIDS Reporting System collects and processes long term follow-up paediatric HIV data for all children living with HIV in England until transition to adult care. The purpose of CHARS is:

• To provide data for public health surveillance of HIV infections among children living with HIV • To monitor the quality of care of children living with HIV until transition to adult services, including producing quality of care indicators • To support NHS commissioning services CHARS launched in 2022 and continues paediatric surveillance carried out by the Collaborative HIV Paediatric Study (CHIPS) based at UCL Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Unit which ran from 2000- 2020, significantly improving the surveillance service in multiple ways.