DOI: 10.1097/01.dcr.0000345766.17895.c8
,
Issn Print: 0012-3706
Publication Date: 2009/04/01
Miriam R. Habib; Michael J. Solomon; Jane M. Young; Bruce K. Armstrong; Dianne O'Connell; Katie Armstrong
Excerpt
To the Editor-Dr Morris rightly observes that the value of quality indicators depends to a great extent on the precise choice of measures of clinical process and patient outcome that are collected and reported. The measures included in our study were limited to those that were available using an existing population-based dataset. Although we agree that other measures could provide a better assessment of the quality of surgical care for people with colorectal cancer, an advantage of our method is that the number and nature of the components of both the evidence-based score and clinical outcome score can be adapted to local needs of colorectal units, hospitals, and large centralized data repositories and can change in response to new scientific evidence, local policy, and the availability of data. In addition to optimizing the measures, however, future research should also focus on identifying how they may be used most effectively to deliver widespread improvements in patient outcomes.
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