Continuing Medical Education

CME Questions

This section provides a review. Mark each statement according to the factual material contained in this issue and the opinions of the authors. A score of 70% is required to qualify for CME credit.

Article One (pp. 5–9)

1. This surgeon is frequently considered the founder of outcomes studies and evidence-based medicine

   • W. Edwards Deming

   • Ernest Codman

   • Edward Martin

   • Abraham Flexner

2. AvedisDonabedian recommended that healthcare quality be measured in the following areas:

   • Structure

   • Measure

   • Outcome

   • All of the above

3. The National VA Surgical Risk Study (NVASRS) provided the first validated risk-adjustment models for measuring and comparing quality of noncardiac surgery. True or False?

4. The Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) program is an example of a process measure. True or False?

   Article Two (pp. 10–13)

5. What is the main difference between the types of quality measures reported by SCIP and NSQIP?

   • SCIP and NSQIP both measure and report process measures

   • SCIP and NSQIP both measure and report outcome measures

   • SCIP measures and reports process measures and NSQIP measures and reports outcome measures

   • SCIP measures and reports outcomes measures and NSQIP measures and reports process measures

6. At what provider level is performance measured by SCIP, NSQIP and SCOAP?

   • Performance is measured at the individual surgeon level

   • Performance is measured at the department level

   • Performance is measured at the hospital level

   • Performance is measured at the state level

   Article Three (pp. 14–18)

7. Which of the following programs has a financial incentive to participate?

   • NSQIP

   • SCIP

   • SCOAP

   • COAP

8. Participation in SCIP is more robust than participation in NSQIP. True or False?

   Article Four (pp. 19–25)

9. Which of the following outcomes is measured by ACS-NSQIP?

   • Anastomotic leak

   • Sphincter injury

   • Urinary retention

   • Deep vein thrombosis

10. Increased compliance with measures of the Surgical Care Improvement Project has universally led to fewer surgical site infections. True or False?

    Article Five (pp. 26–31)

11. Quality improvement programs as measurements in Pay-for-Performance healthcaren. True or False?

12. Of the top 10 procedures associated with the most post-operative morbidity, how many involve resection of a portion of the gastrointestinal tract?

    Article Six (pp. 32–38)

13. The ACS NSQIP database contains <200 variables that affect morbidity and mortality. True or False?

14. Adherence to process measures like SCIP does not correlate with risk-adjusted outcomes. True or False?