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Because of their expertise and insight into the quality improvement process, QCMetrix personnel are frequently asked to lecture at healthcare conferences and to provide material for publication. The latest examples of their knowledge-sharing include:

Facing the Inevitable: Surgical Quality and Outcomes Made Public

Majed G. Tomeh, MS, MBA

24-Apr-2004 / American College of Surgeons, Spring Meeting / Boston, MA

Measuring quality and reporting outcomes is an important and critical component for the practicing surgeon. Surgical outcome data are also becoming more openly available to the public and consumers. Payors and legislators are urging for a wide, public dissemination of outcome-based, provider-specific performance measures. This session is dedicated to surgeon involvement in the use of outcomes for the comparative assessment and improvement of the quality of surgical care and the role of technology and informatics in these efforts.


A History of Healthcare Quality Improvement

Katherine S. Rowell, MS, MHA

24-Mar-2004 / NSQIP National Nurses Conference / San Antonio, TX

Beginning with John Snow, MD and the cholera outbreak of 1854, Ms. Rowell's lecture reviews the history of quality improvement. She discusses Florence Nightingale and the “Polar Area Diagram”, Ernest Codman, MD and the reporting of Surgical Outcomes, Edward Demming’s ground-breaking 14 points for achieving quality and continues up to the present-day healthcare quality crusader, Donald Berwick, MD. Ms. Rowell shows how these historical events have lead to our current understanding of how vital Evidence, Numbers and Comparison are to all healthcare quality improvement efforts.


Using Your NSQIP Data to Inform & Promote Quality Efforts at Your Hospital

Janet Steeger, BSN

24-Mar-2004 / NSQIP National Nurses Conference / San Antonio, TX

In this interactive seminar, using case-study methodology, Janet delivers not only a lecture but also facilitates a series of hands-on activities. The NSQIP nurses from participating hospitals learn how to interpret their NSQIP data and become empowered to lead improvement efforts at their hospitals.


ACCESS Database Training

Steve Merzlak, BSCS & Craig Miller, BSEE

24-Mar-2004 / NSQIP National Nurses Conference / San Antonio, TX

This interactive workshop teaches nurses how to perform simple queries using Microsoft ACCESS databases and to gain an understanding of relational databases. As more data is available to sites, the importance of database proficiency will only increase.


Surgical Grand Rounds Lectures

Katherine S. Rowell, MS, MHA

Newton-Wellesley Hospital

North Shore Medical Center

Mt. Auburn Hospital

University of Virginia Medical Center

Danbury Hospital

 


Automation of Surgical Data Collection for Quality Improvement

Manisha M. Sheode, MS; Steve Merzlak, BS; Craig Miller, BS; Laura A. Noirot, BS; Bruce L. Hall, MD; Tamara Fraley, BS, RN, MMR; Wm. Claiborne Dunagan, MD; and Thomas C. Bailey, MD

Abstract

We are developing a system to automate the task of collecting surgical data for institutional quality improvement and patient safety analysis. This system will also satisfy a growing need to report detailed clinical information to programs such as the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program/Patient Safety in Surgery data accrual project (NSQIP/PSS) in a timely, cost effective and accurate manner. Manual entry of readily available electronic data is not sustainable and must be automated if institutions are to optimize their use of these data to understand and improve clinical care.