Surgical informatics is a useful management tool.

BACKGROUND: Management of surgery in the largest health care system in the country depends upon readily available and valid data. Use of an administrative data base had not fulfilled these requirements. An information program based upon the computerized operating room log and scheduling program presented a possible remedy. METHODS: Data elements previously appearing in the computerized operating room log were expanded to include outcomes. Reports essential to the surgical management of VA surgery were developed through an advisory panel. Necessary changes were added to the surgical computer program and computers installed in each operating room throughout the system. RESULTS: The work load information to manage a surgical service was determined to include the total number of operations performed, both major and minor, and a description of the patient population including the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) classification. The breakdown into the individual surgical specialties, information regarding index operations, extent of resident supervision, and incidence of postoperative occurrences completed the required information. CONCLUSIONS: The information provided by this report is an example of the importance of the use of surgical informatics in the management of VA surgery. The ability to obtain valid information for analysis and dissemination is a direct result of the computer-generated information taken directly from the surgical log of each of the 126 VA Medical Centers.

Comparison of postoperative mortality and morbidity in VA and nonfederal hospitals.

We compared postoperative mortality and morbidity rates in the Veterans Health Administration (VA) to those in nonfederal hospitals, using multivariate analysis to adjust for the patient characteristics of age, diagnosis, comorbidity, and severity of illness. We used a total of 544,000 patient discharge records (330,000 nonfederal and 214,000 VA) from 1987 through 1988 and compared 118 surgical procedures or procedure groups composed of 314 individual surgical procedures. We found no significant differences in postoperative mortality rates between the VA and nonfederal hospital systems for 110 of 118 surgical procedures or procedure groups. Endarterectomy, cervical esophagostomy, and esophageal anastomosis or esophagocolostomy showed significantly lower postoperative mortality in the VA hospitals compared to nonfederal hospitals (P = 0.05). VA postoperative mortality rates that were higher than those in nonfederal hospitals and could not be entirely explained by adjusting for patient characteristics were found for suture of ulcer, cholecystostomy, colon surgery, small intestine surgery, and reopening of recent thoracotomy site (P = 0.05). Respiratory, gastrointestinal, and urinary postoperative morbidity were generally lower in the VA hospitals than in nonfederal hospitals (P = 0.05). Infections were generally higher in the VA hospitals than in nonfederal hospitals. Pulmonary embolism, deep venous thrombosis, shock due to surgery or anesthesia, mediastinitis, hemorrhage, cardiac, and central nervous system morbidity showed no significant differences. These data demonstrate that VA postoperative mortality and morbidity in 118 surgical procedures or procedure groups is comparable to those in nonfederal hospitals.

Comparison of postoperative mortality in VA and private hospitals.

OBJECTIVE: This study compared unselected VA (Department of Veterans Affairs) and private multi-hospital postoperative mortality rates. In the absence of national standards for postoperative mortality rates and in view of the unique volume and range of surgical procedures studied, the second objective is to help establish national standards through the dissemination of these postoperative mortality norms. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: Public Law 99-166, Section 204, enacted by Congress December 3, 1985, required that the VA compare postoperative mortality and morbidity rates for each type of surgical procedure it performs with the prevailing national standard and analyze any deviation between such rates in terms of patient characteristics. METHODS: The authors compared postoperative mortality in the VA to that in private hospitals, adjusting for the patient characteristics of age, diagnosis, comorbidity, or severity of illness. We used a total of 830,000 patients discharge records (323,000 VA and 507,000 private patients) from 1984 through 1986 among 309 individual surgical procedures within 113 comparison surgical procedures or procedure groups. RESULTS: The authors found no significant differences in postoperative mortality rates between the VA and private hospital systems for 105 of the 113 surgical procedures or procedure groups. VA postoperative mortality rates that were higher than those in private hospitals were found for suture of ulcer, revision of gastric anastomosis, small-to-small intestinal anastomosis, appendectomy, and reclosure of postoperative disruption of abdominal wall (p = 0.05). Vascular bypass surgery, portal systemic venous shunt, and esophageal surgery showed a significantly lower postoperative mortality in the VA as compared with that in private hospitals (p = 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: VA postoperative mortality in 113 surgical procedures or procedure groups is comparable to that in private hospitals.