Quality Heart Outcomes

John Kern:	   
There are many ways to measure quality and safety when we're talking about cardiac surgery. There are very tangible ways, how many patients are developing complications that are known to exist with cardiac surgery. There are other ways such as process measures, do we have everything in place that give the patient the best chance to give a good quality outcome and get back to a fully functional quality of life. 

Robbin Shifflett:
We use outcomes at UVA to positively affect outcomes and recovery time. It can decrease length of stay, it can decrease intubation time and it can help with pain management. 

John Kern:	
Patients want to be comfortable with the fact that when they're coming into the hospital to have something as important as heart surgery, that they're going into a place that has a truly collaborative multidisciplinary team of healthcare providers. 

Robbin Shifflett:	
If you're a patient and you've done research and you've looked at the data and you have questions, you really should honestly discuss it with your physician. We practice transparency here at UVA, our physicians expect you to ask them questions about what's going to be happening with you.

John Kern:	
What are we doing to assure that they will have the best outcome possible? What measures do we have in place to keep infection at a minimum? What kind of processes do we have in place to minimize the chance of having a stroke after surgery? 

Robbin Shifflett:	
A patient can use this data to be an active participant in their plan of care. By knowing the outcomes, they can have an honest discussion with their physician to develop an individualized plan that will benefit them through their hospitalization.

John Kern:	
At the University of Virginia, we really have made the concept of continuous improvement and analysis of outcomes pretty much a cornerstone of what we do everyday.