Using the Trauma Quality Improvement Program Metrics Data to Enhance Clinical Practice

The American College of Surgeons Trauma Quality Improvement Program (TQIP) provides trauma centers with hospital-specific performance data and the ability to compare their performance data with that of similar hospitals nationwide. Utilizing the TQIP data and drill down feature can lead to changes in clinical practice and improved care. The purpose of this article is to provide a guide that demonstrates how using the TQIP hospital-specific data can improve outcomes. We recommend 4 separate categories by which data and reports should be evaluated: processes of care, quality of care, data coding, and data mapping. We discuss these categories using 4 targeted examples. Utilizing our guidelines, trauma programs participating in the TQIP should be able to (1) identify trends and focus on outliers in their institutional data, (2) create processes and implement practice improvements, and (3) evaluate the results of their corrective action plan. This topic may be of special interest to those involved in the management of programs or systems-level policies as reduction in costs and improving quality are program drivers.