Synoptic operative reports enhance documentation of best practices for rectal cancer

Background Implementation of best practices surgical checklists improves patient safety and outcomes. However, documenting performance of these practices can be challenging. The American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons developed a Best Practices for Rectal Cancer Checklist (RCC) to standardize and improve the quality of rectal cancer surgery. This study compared the degree to which synoptic (SR) and narrative (NR) operative reports document RCC items. Methods Two reviewers independently reviewed a cohort of prospectively collected SR for rectal cancer surgery and a case‐matched historical cohort of NR. Reports were reviewed for documentation of performance of operative items on the RCC. ion time and inter‐rater agreement were also measured. Results SR scored significantly higher than NR on the overall checklist score (mean adjusted score ± standard deviation 12.4 ± 0.9 vs. 5.7 ± 1.9, maximum possible score 18, P