Endoscopy unit efficiency: Quality redefined

Because of this variability, registry data with clear metrics would be extraordinarily helpful in providing meaningful, reproducible, and actionable information for practices looking to improve their efficiency. Data could be stratified by center type and perhaps even patient population. Furthermore, registries also would provide rich data in which to identify best practices as well as study the impact of interventions on outcomes. Existing quality registries have made significant strides in creating benchmarking opportunities around quality, and we hope that endoscopic efficiency will be embraced similarly.

Conclusions

The focus on value is a paradigm shift in health care delivery and is especially relevant in GI endoscopy, which is frequently in the sights of health services researchers and policy makers focused on excessive health care costs. Measuring and improving the efficiency of our endoscopy units can help improve the value of endoscopy vis-à-vis the payer and the patient and thus offers an ideal target for quality improvement efforts. This is an area in which the financial and patient-centered incentives are aligned and, in the current health care environment, an opportunity that should be welcomed.

The authors have received funding support from Pentax Medical Company under a research grant to the Duke Clinical Research Institute. The funding partner had no role in the development of the conceptual framework, the development of proposed metrics, or the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

Content from this column was originally published in the "Practice Management: The Road Ahead" section of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology (2013;11:1046-9).

"Practice Management Toolbox" provides key information and resources necessary for facing the unique challenges of today’s clinical practices.

Resources for Practical Application: To view additional online resources about this topic and to access our Coding Corner, visit, www.cghjournal.org/content/practice_management.

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