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The Public Perception of Quality Improvement in Surgery

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Surgical Quality Improvement

Abstract

Variation in the quality of health care patients receive is endemic, and medical errors (at both the provider and system levels) now rank as the third leading cause of death in the U.S. An analysis of surgeons performing colectomy procedures over a two-year period in Maryland showed that risk-adjusted complication rates varied between zero and ten times the average complication rate. Given these hazards, the public is eager to receive information to help them navigate the system to find reliable, state-of-the art surgical care.

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Correspondence to Martin A. Makary MD, MPH .

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Taylor, J., Xu, T., Makary, M.A. (2017). The Public Perception of Quality Improvement in Surgery. In: Kelz, R., Wong, S. (eds) Surgical Quality Improvement. Success in Academic Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23356-7_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23356-7_13

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-23355-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-23356-7

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