A Novel System to Improve Case Capture for Surgery Morbidity and Mortality Conference

Complications are often under-reported at surgical morbidity and mortality (M&M) conferences due to the sole reliance on voluntary case submission. While most institutions have databases used for targeted initiatives in quality improvement, these are not routinely used for M&M. We aimed to increase case capture for M&M conferences by developing a novel system that augments the existing case submission system with cases representing complications from quality improvement databases and the electronic health record (EHR). We developed and implemented a novel system for increasing the capture rate of complications for M&M conferences by developing custom software that combines data from the following sources: an existing voluntary case submission system for M&M, local quality databases–National Surgical Quality Improvement Program and Vizient, and an EHR-based case capture tool. We evaluated this system on a retrospective cohort of all postoperative complications at a single center in a 32-mo period and in a prospective cohort over a 4-mo period after system implementation. In the retrospective cohort, we identified 433 complications among all data sources. Inclusion of the new system introduced 280 new potential cases for M&M review over the 32-mo period. After implementation, the system provided 31% of cases presented at M&M conference that would have otherwise been omitted. A novel system that includes complications identified in the EHR and quality improvement databases increased the case capture volume for surgical M&M conference, which provides an objective case referral system that can identify complementary quality improvement opportunities.