Safety and quality are prominent criteria by which surgical care is evaluated. Physicians and hospitals are increasingly being asked for evidence addressing these areas by patients and in some countries, by the insurance companies. Unfortunately, the medical profession has always resisted this and various excuses for not reporting outcomes have been preferred. In India, apart from some notable individual efforts, outcomes of surgery in various hospitals across the country are unknown.
In certain countries across Europe and in the USA, robust databases to analyse surgical outcomes have been developed and patients are starting to use such documentation to select their practitioners and the site for their care . In addition, insurance payers are seeking to use such data to direct selected patient population to particular providers. Therefore, health service policy makers are seeking to…
