About the program
The National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) is an international program that helps hospitals improve care for patients having surgery through quality improvement projects.
Our role
At our participating hospitals, health professionals collect information from patients' medical records and by calling patients after they go home.
The data collected is securely stored by NSQIP and doesn't include any personal patient details.
The program uses the data to provide reports that help hospitals track surgical complications and compare outcomes across Queensland, Australia and around the world.
Two main people run the program in each hospital:
- A clinical nurse consultant, as a surgical clinical reviewer, gathers data, finds areas for improvement and works with the surgeon champion and hospital leaders to improve quality.
- A surgical lead (surgeon champion) works with the surgical clinical reviewer to promote the program and support quality improvements.
A program manager oversees the program at a system level, provides project support and acts as the link to the American College of Surgeons.
Queensland joined the program in 2019 with 3 pilot sites. This has grown to 25 hospitals, covering more than 90% of elective surgical activity in Queensland.
Goals
The program will help:
- improve the safety and quality of surgical care
- improve outcomes for patients by reducing complications related to surgery
- guide local and statewide quality improvement activities
- strengthen collaboration among hospital teams, leaders and quality experts across Queensland and Australia
- reduce healthcare costs by preventing complications and unplanned hospital visits.
Meeting these goals
Hospitals use NSQIP data, reports and tools to make decisions that improve patient safety and surgical care.
Reports track many types of complications that can happen after surgery, including infections, blood clots and kidney problems. They also compare care between hospitals in Queensland, Australia and around the world. This helps hospitals identify trends and risks, measure progress and apply research based best practice.
The program also helps hospitals learn from each other, work together and make targeted improvements that lead to safer and more effective care.
One example of a quality improvement from the program is the post-operative discharge support service (PODSS). This telehealth service was created after NSQIP data showed 10% of patients go to the emergency department within 30 days of surgery for related issues.
Learn more about the post-operative discharge support service (PODSS) in the improvement exchange.
Who we work with
- Patients
- Hospitals and health services
- The American College of Surgeons
- Other Australian hospitals participating in the program
- Surgical teams, quality improvement professionals and hospital administrators
- Researchers
- Queensland Clinical Networks
Contact
For more information, email qh_nsqip@health.qld.gov.au.