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I found this a well-argued and written discussion of a vitally important and urgent issue. I am surprised to be the first to respond, why do doctors find this subject so difficult?
I am involved in supporting our surgical teams to use the data we collect for the Society of Cardiothoracic Surgeons database and publication of named, individual surgeon-specific mortality data on our website (South Tees Cardiac Surgery Outcomes) has increased the attention our surgeons give to performance data (which goes well beyond mortality monitoring) and we have undoubtably seen benefits in terms of the quality and efficiency of the work we carry out. It is unclear to what extent patients and their families look at this web-site, but certainly some do and one can only expect this to increase.
I would whole-heartedly support the use of this approach in procedures with higher mortality rates than we see in the cardiothorcic surgery we already publish and vascular surgery is a particular important example.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests:
No competing interests
22 April 2006
Anthony P Roberts
Honorary Research Fellow
The James Cook University Hospital Cardiothoracic Unit Middlesbrough TS17 6SF
Why does a professional model need press pressure?
I found this a well-argued and written discussion of a vitally important and urgent issue. I am surprised to be the first to respond, why do doctors find this subject so difficult?
I am involved in supporting our surgical teams to use the data we collect for the Society of Cardiothoracic Surgeons database and publication of named, individual surgeon-specific mortality data on our website (South Tees Cardiac Surgery Outcomes) has increased the attention our surgeons give to performance data (which goes well beyond mortality monitoring) and we have undoubtably seen benefits in terms of the quality and efficiency of the work we carry out. It is unclear to what extent patients and their families look at this web-site, but certainly some do and one can only expect this to increase.
I would whole-heartedly support the use of this approach in procedures with higher mortality rates than we see in the cardiothorcic surgery we already publish and vascular surgery is a particular important example.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests