Trauma Quality Improvement Program: A Retrospective Analysis from A Middle Eastern National Trauma Center

Area of Science:

• Trauma Surgery
• Quality Improvement Science
• Health Services Research

Background:

• The American College of Surgery Trauma Quality Improvement Program (ACS-TQIP) facilitates hospital performance feedback using risk-adjusted outcomes.
• The Hamad Trauma Centre (HTC) is a Level I trauma center seeking to benchmark its performance against TQIP aggregate data.
• The study aims to identify variations in adult trauma outcomes and quality measures to guide improvement efforts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the performance of the Hamad Trauma Centre (HTC) with other centers participating in the ACS-TQIP.
• To identify specific areas for improvement in adult trauma care and quality measures at HTC.
• To assess the impact of TQIP benchmarking on trauma care quality.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of TQIP data from April 2019-March 2020 and April 2020-March 2021.
• Utilized TQIP methodology, inclusion/exclusion criteria, and outcome measures for comparison.
• Compared HTC patient demographics, injury mechanisms, and outcomes against TQIP aggregate data.

Main Results:

• Demographics of HTC patients differed from TQIP aggregate data (younger, more males, higher blunt trauma).
• HTC was a low outlier (good performer) in one cohort in Fall 2020 and improved to low outlier status in two cohorts by Fall 2021.
• Overall, HTC maintained an average performer status across report cycles, with observed improvements in risk-adjusted mortality.

Conclusions:

• Risk-adjusted mortality at HTC improved over time, reflecting dedicated trauma team efforts.
• ACS-TQIP external benchmarking can contribute to enhanced patient care monitoring and quality improvement.
• Further evaluation of TQIP data, methodologies, and reporting is recommended for continuous improvement.