Variation in patient-reported outcomes after surgery

Editor's Note

Patient factors explain a large proportion of hospital variation in postoperative patient-reported outcomes, underscoring the importance of risk adjustment, this study finds.

Some variation across hospitals remained unexplained, however, suggesting that patient-reported outcomes may be a viable indicator of hospital performance, the authors conclude.

There is a growing interest in applying patient-reported outcomes to surgical quality, but the extent to which they vary across hospitals had been unknown.

Background: Although there is growing interest in applying patient-reported outcomes (PROs) toward surgical quality, the extent to which PROs vary across hospitals following surgical procedures is unknown. Objectives: We examined variation in PROs, specifically health-related quality of life (HRQOL), across hospitals performing bariatric surgery. Research Design: A retrospective cohort study.