At a half-day forum at the National Journal last week, American College of Surgeons Research and Optimal Care Director Clifford Ko, MD, discussed the impact of healthcare reform.
He said in order for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act to be successful, providers must efficiently collect accurate, risk-adjusted data and develop appropriate metrics.
"We need good, rigorous and believable data that physicians on the frontline will trust and buy into," said Dr. Ko. "And we need to be able to collect the data without a lot of burden."
Several specialty organizations and ACS have registries collecting outcomes data. The discussion also touched on how data could help lower healthcare-related costs by reducing the risk of expensive complications.
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