SF Startup's Software Speeds Stroke Registry Entry
Hospitals using the AHA stroke registry can now route chart data through Pharos, a San Francisco company.
Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Stroke
Hospitals that treat stroke patients can now use Pharos, a San Francisco startup, to pull chart data into the American Heart Association's Get With The Guidelines - Stroke registry. The company was named a Compatible Vendor for the program on November 4, 2026.
Why it matters
Stroke care quality in hospitals across the country is tracked through this registry, and manual chart abstraction has long been a slow, labor-intensive part of that work. A tool that drafts those entries from the medical record could free clinical staff for patient care, and its per-answer source links and review flags leave the final judgment with human staff.
The registry counts more than 2,600 U.S. hospitals, and a single stroke chart typically takes an hour or more to abstract by hand. Pharos reports an 80% reduction in per-chart abstraction time, a figure the company has not yet tied to independent review.
The players
Pharos
A San Francisco company founded in 2024 that builds chart-abstraction software for stroke registry reporting.
American Heart Association
The national nonprofit that runs the Get With The Guidelines - Stroke registry used by hospitals across the country.
Felicis
The venture firm that led Pharos's $5M seed round in 2024.
The details
Pharos, based in San Francisco, became a Compatible Vendor for Get With The Guidelines - Stroke, which the American Heart Association runs as the largest hospital-based stroke quality improvement registry in the United States. Participating hospitals can use the Pharos platform to abstract and submit chart data directly to the registry, with each answer linked to its supporting text in the chart and flagged for review when charts contain conflicts or missing data. Pharos applies the registry's coding instructions to pre-populate its variables, working through each question with a structured reasoning process.
Timeline
2024: Pharos was founded by clinicians and AI researchers and raised a $5M seed round led by Felicis.
November 4, 2026: Pharos announced its designation as a Compatible Vendor for Get With The Guidelines - Stroke.
Across the Bay
Get With The Guidelines - Stroke is the AHA's long-running quality registry, and its reporting has depended on hand abstraction of each chart. Pharos is a San Francisco-built tool that aims to automate that step while keeping each entry tied to its source text.
If you or a family member are treated for stroke at a participating hospital, the records behind your care may be entered into the registry with new software. Hospital staff remain responsible for reviewing flagged charts before submission.
The takeaway
Stroke registry reporting is shifting toward software that pulls data from the chart and keeps each entry linked to its source. Hospitals considering such tools should ask for independent validation of the time savings before relying on them.
Further reading
For more on the conditions behind this software, see the Stroke section of our health coverage.
More information
Hospitals can read the Pharos information for hospitals on Get With The Guidelines - Stroke directly from the company.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Simcoe Reformer.
