Publicly reporting data from surgery is targeted
Guidance document focuses on quality measures
The Surgical Quality Alliance (SQA), with the American College of Surgeons (ACS), has released "Surgery & Public Reporting: Recommendations for Issuing Public Reports on Surgical Care." This resource document provides organizations that publicly report on surgical quality measures with a better understanding of the considerations when reporting on aspects of surgical care. The document will assist organizations reporting on surgical quality from the patient, provider, payer, and purchaser perspective
This document is the first report of its kind to be issued by surgical associations with a focus on public reporting of surgical care. It addresses issues that surgical teams should take into account when defining specialty - specific reporting metrics and highlights the tenet that surgical specialists, in consultation with their patients, are uniquely qualified to provide input on quality measurement and defining clinical excellence in surgery.
"A key component of improving the quality of care provided in our nation's healthcare system hinges on transparency and accountability," said ACS Executive Director David B. Hoyt, MD, FACS. "This document is an important step in ensuring that reports, which are made available for public use, incorporate the nuances of surgical care and, more importantly, promote the concept that the information in the reports is important and understandable to our patients."
SQA chair Frank Opelka, MD, FACS, said, "A guidance document of this magnitude can carry significant weight with healthcare organizations. We're issuing this report in an era when federal legislation now mandates that components of care be measured and publicly reported. Many organizations are just beginning to explore how to specifically report on surgical care. This document is designed to directly provide guidance on those organizational efforts, not just so that they comply with federal requirements, but so we can collectively ensure the information that patients want and need about their surgeons is available to them."
This report also addresses the importance of coordinated teamwork in clinical care. This effort involves team-based surgical care that is safe, effective, and efficient. The document emphasizes that public reports about the quality of care should follow not only individual surgeons, but should be based on the reality of how care is delivered and follow the teams of providers that deliver care.
The SQA is a collaborative effort of more than 20 surgical and anesthesia specialty societies. The document is available online at: http://www.facs.org/ahp/sqa/index.html.
