Spanish cardiac surgery audit promises QA drive
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The cardiac surgery unit of Spain's Hospital Universitario de Canarias (HUC), in Tenerife, has denounced as defamatory headlines and comments in relation to allegations that it is responsible for abnormally high death rates. But, whatever the outcome of any prospective legal action, the data on the unit's activity in 2005 and 2006, as reported by daily El Pais, can only trigger a tightening of surgical quality and outcomes monitoring, at a regional if not national level.