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Valid peer review for surgeons working in small hospitals
Jeff W Allen1, Kenneth J DeSimone
1Department of Surgery, University of Louisville, and Center for Advanced Surgical Technologies at Norton Healthcare and the Alliant Community Trust, Louisville, KY, USA. jeffa@iglou.com
American Journal of Surgery
|July 24, 2002
Summary
A professional organization
Area of Science:
- Surgical quality assessment
- Healthcare management
Background:
- Small hospitals need valid surgical quality analysis methods.
- Direct comparisons in small, competitive settings are often ineffective.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the surgical quality of a single rural surgeon against regional peers.
- To evaluate surgical care quality using objective metrics.
Main Methods:
- A professional limited liability corporation (LLC) collected surgical data from July 1998 to September 2001.
- Quality was assessed via complication rates, patient education, resource use, diagnostic testing, and return-to-work time.
- Data from 11,761 cases, including 256 by the studied surgeon, were analyzed.
Main Results:
- The studied surgeon excelled in patient education, complication rates, and diagnostic test utilization compared to peers.
- Resource utilization, specifically length of stay, indicated an area for improvement.
Conclusions:
- This organizational model and methodology effectively identify surgical care strengths and weaknesses.
- It provides a framework for quality improvement in surgical practices.