Core Measure Set for Patient Safety in Perioperative Care: A Clinical Practice-Oriented Consensus Study.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Quality Improvement
• Patient Safety Research
• Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine

Background:

• Evaluating perioperative patient safety is crucial for improving healthcare outcomes.
• Standardized measures are needed for consistent assessment and benchmarking across European Union (EU) healthcare systems.
• Patient-reported outcomes are increasingly recognized as vital components of comprehensive safety evaluations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a consensus-based, EU-wide Core Measure Set (CMS) for evaluating perioperative patient safety.
• To incorporate patient-reported measures into the CMS for a holistic assessment of care.
• To establish a framework applicable to routine adult perioperative care.

Main Methods:

• A four-phase approach was employed, starting with literature reviews to identify candidate measures.
• A modified eDelphi technique involving experts and patient representatives was used to achieve consensus.
• A Consensus Conference addressed measures with high patient value but lacking feasibility consensus, leading to the final CMS-PSPC.

Main Results:

• The process identified 1,305 initial measures from 340 studies.
• After refinement and consensus, 84 measures achieved agreement, with 10 additional measures incorporated.
• The final CMS-PSPC consists of 76 measures, including 22 outcome, 18 process, and 36 structure measures.

Conclusions:

• The CMS-PSPC offers a standardized, patient-centered approach to perioperative patient safety evaluation.
• It enables consistent monitoring and benchmarking of perioperative care quality across the EU.
• The CMS-PSPC supports EU-wide quality improvement initiatives in perioperative settings.