Surgery Final Technical Report - Fall 2018 Cycle 

Increasing rates and costs associated with inpatient and outpatient surgeries in the United States makes quality measurement in surgery essential to improve outcomes for the millions of individuals undergoing surgery and surgical procedures each year. In 2010, 28.6 million ambulatory surgery visits to hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers occurred, representing 48.3 million surgical and nonsurgical procedures. In 2014, there were 17.2 million hospital visits that included at least one surgery. Of these surgeries, over half occurred in a hospital-owned ambulatory surgical center. With continued growth in the outpatient surgery market, monitoring and assessing the quality of the services provided holds great importance. On February 13, 2019, the Surgery Standing Committee reviewed 15 measures undergoing maintenance review. The measures focused on operative mortality for cardiac procedures, including coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), mitral and aortic valve replacement and repair, and complications from these procedures. The Standing Committee recommended all 15 measures for continued endorsement. Furthermore, the CSAC upheld the Committee’s decision to recommend the measures for endorsement.