There are risks and costs to a program of action. But they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction.
-- John F Kennedy
The goal of quality management (QM) is to improve efficiency and outcomes. An entire industry has arisen devoted to making this simple concept complex, and many anesthesiologists are therefore frustrated by QM requirements. The purpose of this page is to provide very basic instructions for creating an anesthesiology QM program. The program will help your group directly, and will enable you to meet Joint Commission and other regulatory requirements for Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluation (OPPE) and Focused Professional Practice Evaluation (FPPE), and ABA requirements for Maintenance of Certification in Anesthesiology (MOCA).
Measuring indicators will enable you to engage in the quality cycle, which is simple and intuitive:
Measure what you do
Make improvements
Measure again
Quality in your Practice Video
The following video is presented by Dr. Curry of Spectrum Medical Group. This the best description we have found of how to make good, ethical, profitable use of QM data in an anesthesia practice.
For full disclosure - The video describes the use of a commercial product.
Toolkit includes information on the following topics:
• 2010 Manual for Anesthesia Department Organization and Management (MADOM)
• Anesthesia Consultation Program
• ASA Standards, Guidelines and Statements
• Sample Policy and Procedure Statements
• Joint Commission
• Joint Commission FAQs
• Further Reading on SEA 32 and Unintended Awareness During Anesthesia
• Educational Materials for Non-Anesthesiologists
• Quality Management Software System
Sub-Speciality Specific Anesthesia Quality Registries
The SAMBA Clinical Outcomes Registry is a web-based database designed to assist ambulatory anesthiologists track their own outcomes, compare with national benchmarks, and meet regulatory requirements.
