The UF Department of Surgery’s division of vascular surgery and endovascular therapy has earned the highest rating from a nationwide quality initiative collaboration. UF is among 37 organizations—out of 308 nationwide—that earned a three-star rating from the Society for Vascular Surgery Patient Safety Organization’s Vascular Quality Initiative (VQI).
The VQI is a collaboration of regional quality groups collecting and analyzing data in an effort to improve patient care. The VQI collects perioperative and one-year follow-up data to generate real-time benchmarked reports to assess quality of care and determine best practices in vascular surgery. The awards program recognizes the importance of active participation in VQI, as a critical component of the organization’s quality improvement mission.
Participating organizations receive zero to three stars based on three criteria:
- Completeness of long-term follow-up reporting (LTFU). LTFU reporting demonstrates a commitment to monitoring the ongoing effects of treatment, assessing potential problems and providing optimal medical management.
- Physician attendance at regional quality group meetings. Physician and staff attendance at semi-annual regional quality group meetings is critical to drive discussions of outcome variation, to develop regional quality improvement projects, and to encourage multi-center participation in outcomes analysis and quality improvement efforts.
- Participation in multiple procedure registries. Participation in multiple procedure registries provides more opportunities for learning and improvement.