| Abstrakt: |
To the Editor.—We are encouraged by the recommendation in the article by Detmer et al, "Regional Results of Acute Appendicitis Care" (1981; 246:1318), that "a periodic review of multihospital performance data should help hospital medical staffs identify where the performance of their institutions deserves a more detailed review and subsequent action." We disagree, however, with their statement that multihospital data on appendicitis are not routinely available.The Commission on Professional and Hospital Activities (CPHA) has collected such data routinely for the last 25 years through hospital participation in the Professional Activity Study throughout the United States and other countries (currently 1,627 hospitals. Performance data on all discharges, including appendicitis patients, are routinely available through the Quality Assurance Monitor [QAM], an ancillary program at CPHA since 1974). Hospitals that choose to receive QAM reports have their data compared with regional norms and industry standards currently derived from 1979 data.Mortality |
