Building an emergency general surgery registry to track and benchmark outcomes

Emergency general surgery (EGS) represents a significant portion of admissions to hospitals and overall surgical care delivery, yet comprehensive outcome tracking and quality improvement efforts have lagged behind elective surgery and trauma care. This article outlines the gap in data and provides three practical solutions to registry development: third-party registry software with dedicated registrars, leveraging existing National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) infrastructure through the EGS-NSQIP module, and automated data extraction from electronic medical records. Each approach offers unique advantages in addressing the dual challenges of case identification and risk-adjusted outcome measurement for both local quality improvement and national benchmarking. The aim of this white paper is to provide pragmatic, scalable data solutions for EGS leaders seeking to implement contemporary quality improvement and verification efforts.