American Hernia Society Selects ArborMetrix's Fully Integrated Registry Solution To Establish National Outcomes Registry And Reporting System
Registry to be showcased at the 15th Annual Hernia Repair Conference in Orlando, March 13-16, 2013
ArborMetrix, Inc., a leading provider of real-time healthcare analytics, announced that the American Hernia Society (AHS) has selected the company's fully integrated, cloud-based registry solution to create the AHS Quality Collaborative, a new national registry that will facilitate clinical research, accelerate quality improvement efforts and assist hernia surgeons in meeting the requirements for maintaining their board certification.
Attendees at the 15th Annual Hernia Repair Conference, to be held March 13-16, 2013, at the JW Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes resort, will have the opportunity to preview the program.
The collaborative, available to the approximately 700 AHS members, consists of three components:
- A database that collects clinical, operational and cost data
- Analytics and dashboard reporting that provide clinicians with real-time, risk and reliability adjusted performance feedback data
- A process for continuous improvement that includes the ability to evaluate whether implemented changes are delivering the anticipated benefits
"The repair of abdominal wall hernias, also known as ventral hernias, is one of the most common surgical procedures, but there isn't a consensus as to the ideal approach for treating this problem. Therefore, we see tremendous variation in treatment, outcomes, costs and resource utilization," said Collaborative Co-organizer Benjamin K. Poulose, M.D., assistant professor of general surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Dr. Poulose added, "The ArborMetrix platform dynamically benchmarks performance in real time, which is crucial for tracking the impact of quality improvement interventions. This will allow us to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of hernia repair by providing surgeons with immediate, risk-stratified metrics to determine the best procedure for an individual patient based on factors such as patient age, co-morbidities, body mass index (BMI), overall health and the size of the hernia as well as assess the patient's expected wound infection rate, mesh infection rate, hernia recurrence rate and improvement in quality of life."
Using ArborMetrix's analytics engine, AHS will be able to identify which processes are associated with the best outcomes and learn what can be done differently to improve the standard of care. In all, 10 basic initiatives have been outlined for the program:
- Identifying factors that contribute to recurrence
- Assessing quality of life after hernia repair
- Reducing surgical site complications
- Evaluating potential advantages of laparoscopic repairs
- Exploring mechanisms of hernia recurrence
- Identifying factors contributing to mesh infection
- Minimizing perioperative pain
- Evaluating how hernia characteristics impact outcomes
- Determining optimal methods for mesh fixation
- Validating an accepted hernia classification system
"We evaluated a number of potential platforms before deciding on the ArborMetrix solution," said Co-organizer Michael J. Rosen, M.D., F.A.C.S., associate professor of surgery, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine; chief, division of general and gastrointestinal surgery, Case Medical Center; director, Case Comprehensive Hernia Center; and co-director, Case Acute Intestinal Failure Unit.
"We were impressed with the results the ArborMetrix registry platform and analytics engine has achieved for more than 10 national and state surgical quality improvement collaboratives. For example, the Michigan Bariatric Collaborative reduced bariatric mortality rates to a fraction of the national average and decreased complication rates by 24 percent and emergency room visits by 35 percent."
Dr. Rosen continued, "That track record combined with the aggregation of features and capabilities in the ArborMetrix solution-including cost-effective subscription fees, access to real-time dashboards and scientifically rigorous, risk-adjusted outcome information for both performance and quality-along with the fact that it can be configured to meet the specific needs of our members, essentially made the decision for us."
"As a surgeon who treats hernia patients, I'm excited about participating in the program," said ArborMetrix's Founder and Chief Scientific Officer John D. Birkmeyer, M.D., who is also the University of Michigan's George D. Zuidema professor of surgery and director of the Center for Healthcare Outcomes & Policy. "By tracking short-term and long-term performance metrics and capturing patient-centered outcomes, such as pain, functional status and quality of life, we expect AHS will become the model for measuring and improving surgical effectiveness, quality, safety and value."
The AHS collaborative also will make it easier for board-certified members to comply with part four of the American Board of Surgery's Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program, which requires surgeons to participate in a national, regional or local outcomes registry or quality assessment program for the purpose of evaluating their performance in practice.
In addition to the AHS quality collaborative, ArborMetrix has partnered on national collaboratives with the American Association for Endocrine Surgeons and the Pediatric Cardiac Care Consortium. The company also has payer-funded collaboratives in Michigan in bariatric surgery, prostate cancer, trauma, colorectal and complex cancer surgery, acute care surgery and general surgery.
About the American Hernia Society
The American Hernia Society was founded in January 1997. The Society's mission is to provide a professional forum for the exchange of ideas in the diagnosis and treatment of abdominal wall abnormalities. Its focus is to provide an open, approachable environment for education in clinical technique and for presentation and discussion of the latest science, as well as to provide access to key opinion leaders from around the world.
About ArborMetrix
ArborMetrix, Inc., based in Ann Arbor, Mich., is a healthcare analytics and software firm specializing in quality measurement, cost-efficiency and performance improvement for surgical and other acute hospital and specialty-based care. The company focuses on developing rigorous data analysis and actionable business intelligence solutions that raise the bar on quality, performance, utilization and cost-efficiency for hospitals, health systems, specialty societies, quality collaboratives and health plans. ArborMetrix' s unique, cloud-based technology evolved from groundbreaking research by the company founders on improving the quality of surgical care and econometric performance measurement. For more information, visit www.arbormetrix.com
Source: ArborMetrix