A Transplant-Specific Quality Initiative–Introducing TransQIP: A Joint Effort of the ASTS and ACS

Abstract

In an attempt to improve surgical quality in the field of transplantation, the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and American Society of Transplant Surgeons have initiated a national quality improvement program in transplantation. This transplant‐specific quality improvement program, called TransQIP, has been built from the ground up by transplant surgeons and captures detailed information on donor and recipient factors as well as transplant‐specific outcomes. It is built upon the existing ACS/National Surgical Quality Improvement Program infrastructure and is designed to capture 100% of liver and kidney transplants performed at participating sites. TransQIP has completed its alpha pilot and will embark upon its beta phase at approximately 30 centers in the spring of 2017. Going forward, we anticipate TransQIP will help satisfy Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services requirements for a quality improvement program, surgeon requirements for maintenance of certification, and qualify as a clinical practice improvement activity under the Merit‐Based Incentive Payment System. Most importantly, we believe TransQIP will provide insight into surgical outcomes in transplantation that will allow the field to provide better care to our patients.

Textbook surgical outcome in lung transplantation: Analysis of a US national registry

“…Emerging data sources like the Transplant Quality Improvement Program (TransQIP) database may ultimately strike a balance between the relative advantages of using institutional and national data sources, and provide an opportunity to refine national definitions of TO. At present, the TransQIP database remains in its infancy and is limited to kidney and liver transplantation 34,35 ; however, it is conceivable that our findings may motivate expansion of the TransQIP database to include LTx and inform the most relevant outcomes associated with quality of care. Taken together, our study may begin to motivate the transplant community to leverage the UNOS and SRTR registries to define and implement new metrics for transplant center evaluation, and guide improvement in LTx outcomes.…”

Association of low center performance evaluations and pediatric heart transplant center behavior in the United States

“…Also, automatic capturing and addition of electronic medical record data would allow for integration of recent vital signs, clinical condition and laboratory values that would add to accurate risk adjustment 29 . Also initiatives that have been undertaken by adult liver and kidney transplant program such as the Transplant Quality Improvement Program (TransQIP) in which additional recipient, donor and surgical outcomes variables were added to standard UNOS variables to improve risk adjustment and compare surgical outcomes data should be encouraged for pediatric heart transplant programs 30 .…”

Noteworthy Literature published in 2017 for Abdominal Organ Transplantation

“…The transplant surgical societies, American College of Surgeons (ACS) and American Society of Transplant Surgeons, have embarked on building a national quality improvement program for transplantation surgery. 34 This transplant-specific quality improvement program, called TransQIP, captures detailed information on all liver and kidney donors/recipients, with transplants performed at participating sites. It is built on the existing ACS/National Surgical Quality Improvement Program infrastructure.…”