(Poster 31) Establishing a Global Urogynecology Collaborative: Using NSQIP to Drive Quality

Objectives: Variation in urogynecology surgical outcomes highlights the need for standardized, surgeon-led quality improvement (QI) efforts. The American College of Surgeons (ACS) National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) is a validated, risk-adjusted program that measures and improves surgical outcomes. In collaboration with ACS, we established the NSQIP Urogynecology Collaborative to facilitate data-driven QI initiatives, reduce variation among hospitals, collaborate, and disseminate best practices internationally.

Methods: A multi-institutional surgeon-led QI collaborative was developed, engaging urogynecology (UROGYN) surgeons, NSQIP Surgeon Champions, and NSQIP Nurse Surgical Clinical Reviewers (SCRs) at ACS NSQIP-participating sites. Key components include:
• Governance Structure:
A steering committee and institutional representatives guide QI efforts.
• Participation:
Hospitals commit to attending collaborative meetings, quarterly webinars, and the ACS Quality and Safety Conference.
• Benchmarking:
Biannual risk-adjusted reports provide de-identified, procedure-targeted NSQIP data for apples-to-apples outcome comparisons.

Results: ACS has invited sites to join, with a kickoff meeting in May 2024 to review Terms of Reference (TOR), identify and define QI priorities. The first in-person meeting is scheduled for the ACS Quality and Safety Conference in San Diego in July. A pre-meeting survey will assess site successes and challenges. Socialization efforts continue, including outreach to national and international urogynecology associations to expand engagement.

Conclusions: The surgeon-led NSQIP Urogynecology Collaborative unites specialists to align international quality improvement efforts. Ongoing evaluation will guide the development of sustainable strategies to improve outcomes across institutions