Journal of the American College of Surgeons
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The National Veterans Affairs Surgical Risk Study was designed to collect reliable, valid data on patient risk and outcomes for major surgery in the Veterans Health Administration and to report comparative risk-adjusted postoperative mortality and morbidity rates for surgical services in the Veterans Health Administration. ⋯ The Department of Veterans Affairs has successfully implemented a system for the prospective collection and comparative reporting of postoperative mortality and morbidity rates after major noncardiac operations. Risk adjustment had only a modest effect on the rank order of the hospitals.
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The National Veterans Affairs Surgical Risk Study was designed to collect reliable, valid data on patient risk and outcomes for major surgery in the Veterans Health Administration and to report comparative risk-adjusted postoperative mortality rates for surgical services in Veterans Health Administration. ⋯ The Department of Veterans Affairs has successfully implemented a system for the prospective collection and comparative reporting of risk-adjusted postoperative mortality rates after major noncardiac operations. Risk adjustment had an appreciable impact on the rank ordering of the hospitals and provided a means for monitoring and potentially improving the quality of surgical care.