Performance & Quality
12 Canadian hospitals on top surgical list
November 18, 2020
CHICAGO – The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) has recognized 89 of an eligible 607 hospitals participating in the adult program for achieving meritorious outcomes for surgical patient care in 2019. Of those 89 hospitals, 12 are Canadian facilities.
ACS NSQIP-participating hospitals are required to track the outcomes of inpatient and outpatient surgical procedures; these outcomes are then analyzed by ACS and reported back to hospitals. These results will inform patient safety initiatives within the hospital and impact the quality of surgical care.
The 12 Canadian hospitals are:
- Burnaby Hospital, Burnaby, BC
- Chilliwack General Hospital, Chilliwack, BC
- Etobicoke General Hospital, Etobicoke, ON
- Surrey Memorial Hospital, Surrey, BC
- Lions Gate Hospital, North Vancouver, BC
- University Hospital, London Health Sciences Centre, London, ON
- Markham Stouffville Hospital, Markham, ON
- Peterborough Regional Health Centre, Peterborough, ON
- Red Deer Regional Hospital, Red Deer, AB
- St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, ON
- Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON
- Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre, Thunder Bay, ON
The ACS NSQIP recognition program commends a select group of hospitals for achieving a meritorious composite score in either an “All Cases” category or a category which includes only “High Risk” cases. Each composite score was determined through a different weighted formula combining eight outcomes. Outcomes in the following eight clinical areas were evaluated:
- Mortality
- Cardiac: cardiac arrest and myocardial infarction
- Pneumonia
- Unplanned Intubation
- Ventilator use for more than 48 hours per patient
- Renal Failure
- SSI: superficial incisional SSI, deep incisional SSI, and organ/space SSI
- UTI: urinary tract infection
To be eligible for either list, the hospital must have submitted at least one case in each of the 2017, 2018, and 2019 calendar years, though only performance in calendar year 2019 was evaluated for the 2019 meritorious lists. Six-hundred-seven of the 719 NSQIP hospitals participating in 2019 met the three-year criteria to be eligible for Meritorious consideration.
The 89 hospitals achieved the distinction based on an outstanding composite quality score. Risk-adjusted data from the July 2020 ACS NSQIP Semiannual Report, which presents data from the 2019 calendar year, were used to determine which hospitals demonstrated meritorious outcomes. Seventy-two hospitals were recognized on the “All Cases” list and 72 hospitals were recognized on the “High Risk” list; the 72 hospitals represent 10 percent of the 719 calendar-year 2019 ACS NSQIP hospitals. 50 hospitals are recognized on both the “All Cases” and “High Risk” lists, 20 other hospitals are on just the “All Cases” list, and 19 other hospitals are on the “High Risk” list only – yielding 89 hospitals in total. Three hospitals did not consent to having their name released so 89 of the 92 initial hospitals appear on the final list.
St. Michael’s Hospital, in Toronto, has been recognized on both the “All Cases” and “High Risk” meritorious lists. “This means the surgical care we provide is top-notch and compares very well to the surgical care provided elsewhere in Ontario, Canada and internationally,” said Dr. Sarah Ward (pictured), orthopaedic surgeon at St. Michael’s Hospital, “We’re doing all the right things to keep up with best practices and evidence-based pathways for patients.”
A listing of the recognized hospitals is available online.
ACS NSQIP is the only nationally validated quality improvement program that measures and enhances the care of surgical patients. This program measures actual surgical results 30 days postoperatively as well as risk adjusts patient characteristics to compensate for differences among patient populations and acuity levels.
The goal of ACS NSQIP is to reduce surgical morbidity (infection or illness related to a surgical procedure) and surgical mortality (death related to a surgical procedure) and to provide a firm foundation for surgeons to apply what is known as the “best scientific evidence” to the practice of surgery. Furthermore, when adverse effects from surgical procedures are reduced and/or eliminated, a reduction in health care costs follows. ACS NSQIP is a major program of the ACS and is currently used in nearly 850 adult or pediatric hospitals.
About the American College of Surgeons
The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational organization of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical practice and improve the quality of care for all surgical patients. The College is dedicated to the ethical and competent practice of surgery. Its achievements have significantly influenced the course of scientific surgery in America and have established it as an important advocate for all surgical patients. The College has more than 82,000 members and is the largest organization of surgeons in the world. For more information, visit www.facs.org.