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Opening the black box of cancer surgery quality: WebSMR and the Alberta experience
Author(s) -
Mack L.A.,
Bathe O.F.,
Hebert M.A.,
Tamano E.,
Buie W.D.,
Fields T.,
Temple W.J.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of surgical oncology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.201
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1096-9098
pISSN - 0022-4790
DOI - 10.1002/jso.21266
Subject(s) - medicine , certification , cancer surgery , quality (philosophy) , maintenance of certification , black box , cancer , quality management , general surgery , surgery , medical physics , operations management , computer science , engineering , management system , philosophy , epistemology , artificial intelligence , political science , law
A web‐based synoptic operative report, the WebSMR (Surgical Medical Record), was developed to define and improve the quality of cancer surgery. Surgeons accurately record the essential steps of an operation including important decision‐making in an analyzable format. Outcomes can be reviewed with provincial aggregates for quality improvement and maintenance of certification. Future synoptic pathology and follow‐up templates will open the “black box” of surgical processes to define quality indicators for the improvement of cancer outcomes. J. Surg. Oncol. 2009;99:525–530. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.