Quality Reporting: Understanding National Priorities, Identifying Local Applicability.

Since the 1990s, the use of quality measures in healthcare has grown exponentially. Practices must maintain current knowledge of measures that affect their clinicians locally and understand how assessment of these medical professionals affects the priorities and quality activities of practices and facilities. Because quality measures are increasingly used by hospital administrators, health plans, and payers, practices are being asked to shoulder the additional burdens of collecting and reporting data to various entities.

Penetration, Completeness, and Representativeness of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Adult Cardiac Surgery Database.

Background: The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Adult Cardiac Surgery Database (ACSD) has been successfully linked to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) Medicare database, thereby facilitating comparative effectiveness research and providing information about long-term follow-up and cost. The present study uses this link to determine contemporary completeness, penetration, and representativeness of the STS ACSD.

Methods: Using variables common to both STS and CMS databases, STS operations were linked to CMS data for all CMS coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery hospitalizations discharged between 2000 and 2012, inclusive.

Evidence-based practices for thromboembolism prevention: summary of the ASPS Venous Thromboembolism Task Force Report.

In July of 2011, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons Executive Committee approved the Venous Thromboembolism Task Force Report. The report includes a summary of the scientific literature relevant to venous thromboembolism and plastic surgery along with five evidence-based recommendations. The recommendations are divided into two sections: risk stratification and prevention.

How to practice evidence-based medicine.

Evidence-based medicine is defined as the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence, combined with individual clinical expertise and patient preferences and values, in making decisions about the care of individual patients. In an effort to emphasize the importance of evidence-based medicine in plastic surgery, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons and Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery have launched an initiative to improve the understanding of evidence-based medicine concepts and provide tools for implementing evidence-based medicine in practice. Through a series of special articles aimed at educating plastic surgeons, the authors' hope is that readers will be compelled to learn more about evidence-based medicine and incorporate its principles into their own practices.

Introducing evidence-based medicine to plastic and reconstructive surgery.

An effective healthcare system is one in which healthcare spending provides acceptable returns in terms of health outcomes and broad coverage for its citizens. By this measure, the United States healthcare system unfortunately falls short. Tremendous pressure for improvement has given rise to several initiatives designed to decrease healthcare expenditure and improve outcomes, access, and quality of care.