COA General Symposium: From Adverse Event Reporting to Value Measurement and Quality Improvement in Orthopaedics - A National call to Action

Description

In this comprehensive discussion led by Dr. Lisa Howard and her colleagues, the focus is on the critical importance of adverse event reporting in orthopedic surgery and its implications for quality improvement in patient care. The presentation begins with introductions, emphasizing gratitude to the Canadian Orthopedic Association for the opportunity to host this symposium.



The speakers outline the goals of the symposium, which include recognizing the necessity for a national orthopedic adverse event reporting system, differentiating quality improvement from traditional research, and understanding concepts of quality and cost-effectiveness in orthopedic care. They highlight the need for data collection, analysis, and knowledge translation to improve practices across regions.



Dr. Howard stresses that while adverse events are often a taboo subject among surgeons, they are vital to enhancing patient safety and care outcomes. She introduces the OrthoSAVES system, which is designed to document orthopedic adverse events systematically. The discussion reveals that currently available national reporting systems often miss orthopedic-specific complications.



The second speaker, Dr. Andrew Glennie, emphasizes the economics of adverse events in healthcare, explaining how adverse events significantly inflate costs and diminish patient outcomes. He discusses the concept of quality-adjusted life years (QALY) in evaluating the cost-effectiveness of procedures and how adverse events can drastically alter these calculations.



Further dialogue touches upon the importance of integrating quality improvement initiatives with data collection systems, addressing patient journey tracking from the initial incident (e.g., hip fractures) through to recovery, and identifying specific adverse occurrences like urinary tract infections or surgical site infections that could be prevented through best practices.



The symposium rounds out with insights on leveraging data analytics to foster better surgical outcomes and reduce variability in practice among orthopedic surgeons. Overall, the conversation highlights a national call to action for developing a robust adverse event reporting framework that enhances patient safety and promotes continuous improvement within the orthopedic specialty.

Specialties