Challenges in Outcome Reporting

Publication date: Available online 9 April 2018 Source:Anesthesiology Clinics Author(s): Avery TungTeaser Although measuring outcomes is an integral part of medical quality improvement, large-scale outcome reporting efforts face several challenges. Among these are difficulties in establishing consensus definitions for outcome measurement; classifying gray outcomes, such as postoperative respiratory failure; and adequately adjusting for patient comorbidities and severity of illness. Unintended consequences of outcome reporting can also distort care in undesirable ways, and clinician reluctance to care for high-risk patients may occur with reporting programs. Ultimately, clinicians need not compare outcomes to improve and should recognize that even outcomes that cannot be precisely quantitated can still be improved.
Source: Anesthesiology Clinics - Category: Anesthesiology Source Type: research