The Search for an Outcome Variable That Measures Both Quality and Processes in Cardiac Surgery: Comparing the Quality Process Index and Mortality

Background: The translation of a large quantity of data into valuable insights for daily clinical practice is underexplored. A considerable amount of information is overwhelming, making it difficult to distill and assess quality and processes at the hospital level. This study contributes to this necessary translation by developing a Quality Process Index that summarizes clinical data to measure quality and processes. Methods: The Quality Process Index was constructed to enable retrospective analyses of quality and process evolution from 2011 to 2021 for various surgery types in the Amsterdam Cardiosurgical Database (n = 5497). It is presented alongside mortality rates, which are the golden standard for quality measurement. The two outcome variables are compared as quality and process measurement options. Results: Results showed that the mean Quality Process Index appeared rather stable, even though analysis of variance found that the mean Quality Process Index differed significantly over the years (p < 0.001). The 30-day and 120-day mortality rates appeared to fluctuate more, but interestingly, we failed to reject the null hypothesis of equal means. The Quality Process Index and mortality rates were statistically negatively correlated, and the extent of correlation was more pronounced with the 120-day mortality rate, as computed using the Pearson correlation coefficient (Formula presented.) (30-day (Formula presented.) = −0.07, p < 0.001 and 120-day mortality rates (Formula presented.) = −0.12, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The Quality Process Index seeks to address the need to translate data for quality and process improvement in healthcare. While mortality remains the most impactful outcome measure, the Quality Process Index provides a more stable and comprehensive measurement of quality and process improvement or deterioration in healthcare. Therefore, the Quality Process Index as a quantification reinforces the understanding of the definition of quality and process improvement.