Clinical Outcomes and Measures in Perioperative Care

Clinical outcomes within perioperative care have been and will continue to be an important priority as healthcare continues to prioritize quality, safety, and value. Also, as our population ages and resources continue to be limited, effective quality improvement efforts will become even more important and complex. The ability to collect and report accurate and effective outcome measures is needed to give quality care in the perioperative setting. Ongoing challenges persists with collection and use of outcome data in clinical practice and research. As several national programs address the need for standardization and integration of outcome measurement in perioperative care, there continues to be emphasis on outcome measures that are patient-focused. Traditional measures of perioperative quality include morbidity, mortality and utilization of resources whereas patient-focused measures include patient-reported outcomes that measure patient experience. All perioperative outcome measures have advantages and disadvantages and should be used appropriately to monitor patient care. The focus on the appropriate clinical outcomes will continue to ensure our care and improvement paths are aligned, effective, and meaningful. This chapter will outline the importance of clinical outcome measures, review the various measures that can and should be used in perioperative care and suggestions on how to improve quality measures in the perioperative setting.