Readiness assessment of the electronic synoptic surgical quality initiative

Review the initiative’s 2017 findings and recommendations for helping implement synoptic surgery reporting standards in key jurisdictions

This report identifies and examines the following objectives:

  • Outcomes of implementing synoptic surgery reporting (SSR) standards on a small scale, over the last 10 years, in several provinces across Canada
  • Values and benefits of using the standards for the early adopters
  • Priority provinces ready or not ready to implement the standards
  • Roles of key parties (at the local, regional, provincial, and national levels) to support implementing the standards system-wide
  • Recommendations and a road map to build the case for standardizing high-quality surgical care for patients across the country
  • Consequences of not standardizing surgical cancer care in Canada

The Electronic Synoptic Surgery Quality Initiative (ESSQUI) began in 2007 to establish and make national standards available. Those standards were to guide the consistent capture of inter-operative notes for eight cancer types: breast, colon, rectal, lung, endometrial, ovarian, thyroid, and prostate.

Over the past 10 years, nine million dollars has been invested to help Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador implement the pan-Canadian standards, and transition 250 surgeons to electronic operative reporting. The lessons learned from those provinces can help with implementation of the standards across Canada.

This readiness assessment outlines the following results:

  • Strengths and opportunities for scaling up
  • Key priorities to meet funders’ and decision-makers’ information needs
  • Roles of key parties to spread and scale
  • Opportunity cost for not taking action

This assessment shares the following recommendation highlights:

  • The conditions for implementing the national standards in priority jurisdictions across Canada
  • The roles of the Partnership, surgeons, medical societies, jurisdictions, provincial cancer agencies, CIHI and others

Downloadable content