Video-based tools for surgical quality assessment of technical skills in laparoscopic procedures: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Quality of surgery has substantial impact on both short- and long-term clinical outcomes. This stresses the need for objective surgical quality assessment (SQA) for education, clinical practice and research purposes. The aim of this systematic review was to provide a comprehensive overview of all video-based objective SQA tools in laparoscopic procedures and their validity to objectively assess surgical performance. METHODS: PubMed, Embase.com and Web of Science were systematically searched by two reviewers to identify all studies focusing on video-based SQA tools of technical skills in laparoscopic surgery performed in a clinical setting. Evidence on validity was evaluated using a modified validation scoring system. RESULTS: Fifty-five studies with a total of 41 video-based SQA tools were identified. These tools were used in 9 different fields of laparoscopic surgery and were divided into 4 categories: the global assessment scale (GAS), the error-based assessment scale (EBAS), the procedure-specific assessment tool (PSAT) and artificial intelligence (AI). The number of studies focusing on these four categories were 21, 6, 31 and 3, respectively. Twelve studies validated the SQA tool with clinical outcomes. In 11 of those studies, a positive association between surgical quality and clinical outcomes was found. CONCLUSION: This systematic review included a total of 41 unique video-based SQA tools to assess surgical technical skills in various domains of laparoscopic surgery. This study suggests that validated SQA tools enable objective assessment of surgical performance with relevance for clinical outcomes, which can be used for training, research and quality improvement programs.

Reliability and validity of assessment methods available in primary care for bladder outlet obstruction and benign prostatic obstruction in men with lower urinary tract symptoms: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVES: To systematically review the literature regarding the reliability and validity of assessment methods available in primary care for bladder outlet obstruction or benign prostatic obstruction in men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). DESIGN: Systematic review with best evidence synthesis. SETTING: Primary care. PARTICIPANTS: Men with LUTS due to bladder outlet obstruction or benign prostatic obstruction. REVIEW METHODS: PubMed, Ebsco/CINAHL and Embase databases were searched for studies on the validity and reliability of assessment methods for bladder outlet obstruction and benign prostatic obstruction in primary care. Methodological quality was assessed with the COSMIN checklist. Studies with poor methodology were excluded from the best evidence synthesis. RESULTS: Of the 5644 studies identified, 61 were scored with the COSMIN checklist, 37 studies were included in the best evidence synthesis, 18 evaluated bladder outlet obstruction and 17 benign prostatic obstruction, 2 evaluated both. Overall, reliability was poorly evaluated. Transrectal and transabdominal ultrasound showed moderate to good validity to evaluate bladder outlet obstruction. Measured prostate volume with these ultrasound methods, to identify benign prostatic obstruction, showed moderate to good accuracy, supported by a moderate to high level of evidence. Uroflowmetry for bladder outlet obstruction showed poor to moderate diagnostic accuracy, depending on used cut-off values. Questionnaires were supported by high-quality evidence, although correlations and diagnostic accuracy were poor to moderate compared with criterion tests. Other methods were supported by low level evidence. CONCLUSION: Clinicians in primary care can incorporate transabdominal and transrectal ultrasound or uroflowmetry in the evaluation of men with LUTS but should not solely rely on these methods as the diagnostic accuracy is insufficient and reliability remains insufficiently researched. Low-to-moderate levels of evidence for most assessment methods were due to methodological shortcomings and inconsistency in the studies. This highlights the need for better study designs in this domain.

Unraveling the Complexity in the Design and Implementation of Bundled Payments: A Scoping Review of Key Elements From a Payer's Perspective.

Policy Points Because bundled payments are relatively new and require a different type of collaboration among payers, providers, and other actors, their design and implementation process is complex. By sorting the 53 key elements that contribute to this complexity into specific pre- and postcontractual phases as well as the actors involved in the health system, this framework provides a comprehensive overview of this complexity from a payer's perspective. Strategically, the design and implementation of bundled payments should not be approached by payers as merely the introduction of a new contracting model, but as part of a broader transformation into a more sustainable, value-based health care system. CONTEXT: Traditional fee-for-service (FFS) payment models in health care stimulate volume-driven care rather than value-driven care. To address this issue, increasing numbers of payers are adopting contracts based on bundled payments. Because their design and implementation are complex, understanding the elements that contribute to this complexity from a payer's perspective might facilitate their adoption. Consequently, the objective of our study was to identify and structure the key elements in the design and implementation of bundled payment contracts. METHODS: Two of us independently and systematically examined the literature to identify all the elements considered relevant to our objective. We then developed a framework in which these elements were arranged according to the specific phases of a care procurement process and actors' interactions at various levels of the health system. FINDINGS: The final study sample consisted of 147 articles in which we identified the 53 elements included in the framework. These elements were found in all phases of the pre- and postcontractual procurement process and involved actors at different levels of the health care system. Examples of elements that were cited frequently and are typical of bundled payment procurement, as opposed to FFS procurement, are (1) specification of care services, patients' characteristics, and corresponding costs, (2) small and heterogeneous patient populations, (3) allocation of payment and savings/losses among providers, (4) identification of patients in the bundle, (5) alignment of the existing care delivery model with the new payment model, and (6) limited effects on quality and costs in the first pilots and demonstrations. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with traditional FFS payment models, bundled payment contracts tend to introduce an alternative set of (financial) incentives, touch on almost all aspects of governance within organizations, and demand a different type of collaboration among organizations. Accordingly, payers should not strategically approach their design and implementation as merely the adoption of a new contracting model, but rather as part of a broader transformation toward a more sustainable value-based health care system, based less on short-term transactional negotiations and more on long-term collaborative relationships between payers and providers.

The contribution of work and lifestyle factors to socioeconomic inequalities in self-rated health ‒ a systematic review.

Objective This study aimed to systematically review the literature on the contribution of work and lifestyle factors to socioeconomic inequalities in self-rated health among workers. Methods A search for cross-sectional and longitudinal studies assessing the contribution of work and/or lifestyle factors to socioeconomic inequalities in self-rated health among workers was performed in PubMed, PsycINFO and Web of Science in March 2017. Two independent reviewers performed eligibility and risk of bias assessment. The median change in odds ratio between models without and with adjustment for work or lifestyle factors across studies was calculated to quantify the contribution of work and lifestyle factors to health inequalities. A best-evidence synthesis was performed. Results Of those reviewed, 3 high-quality longitudinal and 17 cross-sectional studies consistently reported work factors to explain part (about one-third) of the socioeconomic health inequalities among workers (grade: strong evidence). Most studies separately investigated physical and psychosocial work factors. In contrast with the 12 cross-sectional studies, 2 longitudinal studies reported no separate contribution of physical workload and physical work environment to health inequalities. Regarding psychosocial work factors, lack of job resources (eg, less autonomy) seemed to contribute to health inequalities, whereas job demands (eg, job overload) might not. Furthermore, 2 longitudinal and 4 cross-sectional studies showed that lifestyle factors explain part (about one-fifth) of the health inequalities (grade: strong evidence). Conclusions The large contribution of work factors to socioeconomic health inequalities emphasizes the need for future longitudinal studies to assess which specific work factors contribute to health inequalities.