The study authors analyzed Medline, CINAHL Plus, EMBASE and Google Scholar for literature on performance indicators in spine surgery from January 1980 to July 2016. There were 85 studies that initially appeared and two relevant studies identified for this review. An extended search revealed 865 citations, and study authors identified 15 new articles. Here are four key notes:
1. There were five additional reports found in a grey literature search which led to six new articles added to the 15 already studied; there were a total of 27 full text articles included in the literature review.
2. Study authors weren’t able to identify performance indicators based on current literature because the articles measured performance by criteria they lacked.
3. After identifying a need for the first performance indicator in spine surgery, study authors decided current registry work is providing a necessary foundation but will require benchmarking to truly measure performance.
4. While performance measurement in spine surgery is in its infancy, study authors concluded, “Current outcome metrics used in clinical settings require refinement to become performance indicators.”
More articles on spine surgery:
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