Access the Final Report: National Voluntary Consensus Standards for Cardiac Surgery
The Opportunity
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and many other countries. A coronary artery bypass graft and other types of heart surgery are some of the most common major surgeries performed in the United States each year and are among the most costly—both in dollars and surgical morbidity. Indeed, cardiac surgical procedures are associated with more than 14,000 in-hospital deaths each year. Standardizing performance measures for common cardiac surgery procedures is needed and should have a significant public health benefit.
Statistics
Heart disease is the leading cause of death and disability in the United States and one of the 20 healthcare quality improvement priorities that the Institute of Medicine has recommended for focused national attention. Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery is now performed over 700,000 times per year in U.S. hospitals, while heart valve surgery is performed over 100,000 times per year. Improving the outcomes of these procedures would have major public health implications.
About the Project
The NQF-endorsed cardiac surgery consensus standards are derived from the following priorities: existing NQF-endorsed consensus standards should be used when available and appropriate; the focus is on the most common surgical procedures and on measures that are condition specific; and standards address disparities of care. These consensus standards are intended for public reporting and accountability, but they also will inform internal quality improvement efforts.
Objectives
This project sought to achieve national consensus on a comprehensive set of standardized cardiac surgery performance measures that can be used to assess the quality of cardiac surgery in the United States.
Process
In June 2004, the Steering Committee recommended a set of measures that was forwarded to NQF Members and the public for comment in accordance with NQF’s Consensus Development Process (CDP) (appendix F). A Technical Advisory Panel (TAP) also was formed to assist NQF staff on measure evaluation, advise the Steering Committee on the technical aspects of measures, and make recommendations to the Steering Committee.
Steering Committee
Technical Advisory Panel
Funding
Funding for this project was provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Guidant Foundation, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the Society for Thoracic Surgery.
Related NQF Work
Contact Information
For more information, contact Reva Winkler, MD, MPH, at 202.783.1300 or info@qualityforum.org.
