@article{72647766ed7646f994b5a54fb64727b5,
title = "A collaborative to evaluate and improve the quality of surgical care delivered by the military health system",
abstract = "In an effort to improve surgical quality and reduce clinical variability, the Military Health System (MHS) expanded its participation in the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program to all military hospitals beginning in 2015. This expansion and a partnership with the American College of Surgeons laid the foundation for a surgical quality collaborative in the MHS.We review the history of the program in the MHS and the activities that have contributed to developing the collaborative. We also report promising trends in surgical outcomes at hospitals that were already participating in the program in 2014, when a critical MHS review identified areas for improvement in surgical care. We conclude with a discussion of possible lessons for other health systems and challenges ahead for the MHS, now that full enrollment in the program has been completed.",
author = "Learn, {Peter A.} and Mullen, {Mollie J.} and Saldinger, {Pierre F.} and Peter Kreishman and Cordts, {Paul R.} and Ko, {Clifford Y.} and Knudson, {M. Margaret} and Elster, {Eric A.}",
note = "Funding Information: The data in this article were presented in part at the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress, Boston, Massachusetts, October 22, 2018. Clifford Ko and Margaret Knudson receive partial salary support from the American College of Surgeons. The authors acknowledge Arthur Kellermann for his editorial advice on an earlier version of the manuscript. The opinions or assertions contained herein are the private ones of the authors and are not to be construed as official or reflecting the views of the Department of Defense, the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, or any other agency of the US government. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2019 Project HOPE-The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.",
year = "2019",
doi = "10.1377/hlthaff.2019.00286",
language = "English",
volume = "38",
pages = "1313--1320",
journal = "Health Affairs",
issn = "0278-2715",
number = "8",
}