Key result
A modified Delphi panel of 14 Canadian anesthesiologists identified 56 consensus anesthesia quality indicators, prioritizing 20 items for continuous self-assessment and practice improvement.
Why the study?
It was unclear how vast amounts of information in electronic anesthesia information management systems could be used to promote continuous quality improvement for practicing anesthesiologists.
A modified Delphi study identified 20 high-priority anesthesia quality indicators to assist in continuous quality improvement and self-assessment.
This Delphi-derived list of 20 indicators may inform anesthesiologists' self-assessment; leaves open prospective validation before routine cQI use.
BACKGROUND: Implementation of the new competency-based post-graduate medical education curriculum has renewed the push by medical regulatory bodies in Canada to strongly advocate and/or mandate continuous quality improvement (cQI) for all physicians. Electronic anesthesia information management systems contain vast amounts of information yet it is unclear how this information could be used to promote cQI for practicing anesthesiologists. The aim of this study was to create a refined list of meaningful anesthesia quality indicators to assist anesthesiologists in the process of continuous self-assessment and feedback of their practice. METHODS: An initial list of quality indicators was created though a literature search. A modified-Delphi (mDelphi) method was used to rank these indicators and achieve consensus on those indicators considered to be most relevant. Fourteen anesthesiologists representing different regions across Canada participated in the panel. RESULTS: The initial list contained 132 items and through 3 rounds of mDelphi the panelists selected 56 items from the list that they believed to be top priority. In the fourth round, a subset of 20 of these indicators were ranked as highest priority. The list included items related to process, structure and outcome. CONCLUSION: This ranked list of anesthesia quality indicators from this modified Delphi study could aid clinicians in their individual practice assessments for continuous quality improvement mandated by Canadian medical regulatory bodies. Feasibility and usability of these quality indicators, and the significance of process versus outcome measures in assessment, are areas of future research.
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Yee et al. (2023) studied Anesthesia practice quality improvement (n=14). Modified Delphi survey was evaluated on Consensus on anesthesia quality indicators. A modified Delphi panel of 14 Canadian anesthesiologists identified 56 consensus anesthesia quality indicators, prioritizing 20 items for continuous self-assessment and practice improvement.
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