Postsurgical Recovery and Long-Term Outcomes: What Should We Be Measuring?

To determine which perioperative outcomes are most relevant for patients, clinicians and healthcare systems to determine long-term recovery from surgical intervention.

Measurement of perioperative outcomes is essential for the development and delivery of high-quality, value-based and patient-centered care. Traditionally, outcome measurement has been focused on quantitative outcomes such as mortality and morbidity. Whilst these measurements have significant merit, they may not reflect what is of greatest import to patients whose priorities are often centered around an expeditious return to perioperative function. Patient-reported outcome measurements are available in a variety of formats and aim to assess the effect of surgical intervention across several domains. It is also becoming increasingly evident that socioeconomic situation and ethnicity play a significant part in access to and recovery from surgery.

Many factors must be taken into consideration to enable the delivery of value-based surgical care, in particular with an aging population, advances in perioperative techniques and the increase of surgical delivery on a global scale.