Abstract
Background Quality assessment is a major tool for evaluation of health care delivery. In head and neck surgery, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MD Anderson) has defined quality standards by publishing benchmarks. Methods We conducted an analysis of 360 head and neck surgeries performed at the AC Camargo Cancer Center (AC Camargo). The procedures were stratified into low-acuity procedures (LAPs) or high-acuity procedures (HAPs) and outcome indicators where compared to MD Anderson benchmarks. Results In the 360 cases, there were 332 LAPs (92.2%) and 28 HAPs (7.8%). Patients with any comorbid condition had a higher incidence of negative outcome indicators (p =.005). In the LAPs, we achieved the MD Anderson benchmarks in all outcome indicators. In HAPs, the rate of surgical site infection and length of hospital stay were higher than what is established by the benchmarks. Conclusion Quality assessment of head and neck surgery is possible and should be disseminated, improving effectiveness in health care delivery.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1002-1007 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Head and Neck |
Volume | 38 |
Issue number | 7 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jul 1 2016 |
Keywords
- head and neck surgery
- quality
- quality of care
- surgery
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Otorhinolaryngology