The Queensland Audit of Surgical Mortality (QASM) has been established to facilitate a peer review surgical audit process for all surgical deaths in Queensland public hospitals. QASM is funded by Queensland Health and operated by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) under a service agreement with Queensland Health.
The QASM audit process is designed to highlight system and process factors that may affect the delivery of safe and effective surgical care. It aims to identify opportunities for improvement and to make recommendations to Queensland Health and the surgical community.
QASM is an approved statutory Quality Assurance Committee in Queensland under the Hospital and Health Boards Act 2011 (Qld). Similar audit projects have been established in other States and function together under the umbrella of the Australian and New Zealand Audits of Surgical Mortality (ANZASM). ANZASM has been declared an approved quality assurance activity under Commonwealth legislation.
The Qualified Privilege that attaches to the functions of QASM under both Queensland and Commonwealth law is designed to encourage surgeon participation within the mortality audits by strictly protecting the confidentiality of information gained in the audit.
For further information on QASM go to Royal Australiasian College of Surgeons website.
