Following on from the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery, check out this enlightening article discussing the complexities of data collection for key safety indicators and the ways in which these indicators can be used to reliably assess developing surgical systems.
The Commission, by Meara et al., has put surgery and its allied specialities squarely on the global agenda for universal health coverage. But, like any public health strategy, the development of surgical systems cannot be assumed to be creating the outcomes desired by those instituting it.
Indicators with clear definitions must be found to assess these systems and this requires the development of data collection systems, a feat in itself in the context of variable infrastructure and information systems, a move away from a blame culture which might confound data and access to support from organisations with experience in the field.
That’s the last time we’ll complain about notes not arriving from medical records for an audit.
