Abdominal Core Health Quality Collaborative

ACHQC'S MISSION IS TO IMPROVE QUALITY AND VALUE IN THE SURGICAL TREATMENT OF HERNIA, ABDOMINAL CORE, AND ABDOMINAL WALL DISEASE THROUGH COLLABORATION USING DATA.

MANAGED AND GREW OUR ACHQC DATABASE OF REAL-WORLD DATA KNOWN AS THE ACHQC REGISTRY. BY THE END OF 2023, THE ACHQC REGISTRY INCLUDED DATA COLLECTED ON OVER 125,000 OPERATIONS PERFORMED BY 430 SURGEONS IN 45 STATES ACROSS THE USA. OVER 18,500 SURGICAL CASES WERE ADDED IN 2023. THE DATA SUPPORTED NUMEROUS ANALYSES OF THE REGISTRY'S REAL-WORLD DATA WHICH WERE MADE AVAILABLE TO OUR VOLUNTEER SURGEON COLLABORATORS WHO INPUT DATA FROM THEIR SURGERIES INTO THE ACHQC REGISTRY AND INDUSTRY COLLABORATORS FOR THEIR USE IN COLLABORATIVELY SHARING SUCH DATA AND TO OTHERWISE USE SUCH ANALYZED DATA TO IMPROVE QUALITY AND VALUE IN THE SURGICAL TREATMENT AND INTERVENTION IN HERNIA, ABDOMINAL CORE, AND ABDOMINAL WALL DISEASE.

IN 2023, ACHQC CONTINUED THE EXPANSION OF EMBEDDED REGISTRY-BASED STUDIES TO USE QC DATA TO CONDUCT PROSPECTIVE STUDIES RELATED TO THE SURGICAL CARE OF HERNIAS AND ABDOMINAL CORE DISEASES AND SIGNIFICANTLY FOR THE FUTURE EXPANSION OF THE REGISTRY, DEVELOPED THE PROTOCOLS AND VARIABLES TO EXPAND THE REGISTRY IN 2024 TO PROVIDE A HIATAL HERNIA MODULE WHICH WILL SUPPORT THE COLLECTION AND ANALYSES OF DATA ON HIATAL HERNIA SURGERIES.

PROVIDED EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS TO BOTH ACHQC VOLUNTEER SURGEONS WHO CONTRIBUTE DATA ON THEIR SURGERIES TO THE ACHQC REGISTRY AND TO ALL OTHER SURGEONS TO SHARE LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE DATA COLLECTED IN ORDER TO IMPROVE SURGICAL PRACTICE AND STANDARDS. INCLUDING: (1) THE 5TH ANNUAL QUALITY IMPROVEMENT SUMMIT WAS HELD AS AN IN-PERSON FORMAT IN 2023 AND HOSTED OVER 80 STAKEHOLDERS IN PATIENT CARE WHO IN A COLLABORATIVE INTERACTIVE LEARNING WEEKEND ANALYZED DATA, IDENTIFIED TIPS FROM HIGH PERFORMERS AND SHARE PRACTICES FOR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT IN PATIENT CARE, AND (2) A SEMI-MONTHLY VIRTUAL EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM, KNOWN AS QC CORE INSIGHTS, WHICH PROVIDES CRITICAL REVIEW OF HOT TOPICS IN HERNIA AND ABDOMINAL CORE HEALTH FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF SURGICAL PRACTICE. THE QC CORE INSIGHTS PROGRAM IS FREELY DELIVERED ON A SEMI-MONTHLY BASIS VIA ZOOM WITH ON-DEMAND VIDEO RECORDINGS AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC ON THE ACHQC.ORG WEBSITE.

IN 2023, ACHQC CONTINUED TO SUPPORT ITS PATIENT ENGAGEMENT AND ADVOCACY COMMITTEE AS A CRITICAL PART OF ACHQC'S MISSION BY SEEKING TO UNDERSTAND AND IMPROVE PATIENT EXPERIENCES BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER SURGERY. THE COMMITTEE MET REGULARLY WITH A GROUP OF 6 PATIENTS AND 3 SURGEONS TO CONTINUE TO IDENTIFY PATIENT NEEDS AND DEVELOP EDUCATIONAL TOOLS AND PROGRAM THAT REFLECT THE PATIENT PERSPECTIVE. THE COMMITTEE PRESENTED A FEATURED PROGRAM ON PATIENT INSIGHTS AS PART OF ACHQC'S IN-PERSON 5TH ANNUAL QUALITY IMPROVEMENT SUMMIT IN DENVER, COLORADO.