Quality Assurance & Improvement Flashcards
7 cards from real ABCS practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Quality Assurance & Improvement flashcards as text
Under AAAHC accreditation standards, ambulatory surgical centers performing cosmetic procedures must conduct quality improvement activities that are:
Answer: Ongoing, data-driven, and involve all relevant staff
AAAHC requires continuous, data-driven QI programs with multidisciplinary participation, not just annual or voluntary efforts.
A 'near miss' in cosmetic surgery quality management is BEST described as:
Answer: An event that could have caused harm but was caught before reaching the patient
Near misses are intercepted errors that did not harm the patient but signal vulnerabilities in the system requiring corrective action.
Which approach BEST supports a culture of safety in a cosmetic surgery practice?
Answer: Encouraging non-punitive reporting of errors and near misses
A non-punitive reporting culture encourages open disclosure of errors and near misses, enabling systemic learning and improvement.
The 'Plan-Do-Study-Act' (PDSA) cycle differs from traditional problem-solving primarily because it:
Answer: Tests changes on a small scale before full implementation
PDSA cycles pilot changes on a small scale in the 'Do' phase, allowing evaluation before committing to full-scale implementation.
When reviewing surgical outcomes data, a cosmetic surgeon notices an outlier case with an unexpectedly poor result. The APPROPRIATE response is to:
Answer: Conduct a focused case review to identify contributing factors
Outlier cases should trigger focused case review to identify system or technique factors that may have contributed to the poor outcome.
In cosmetic surgery QA programs, 'outcome measures' are BEST defined as:
Answer: Results of care, including clinical and patient-reported outcomes
Outcome measures capture the results of care, encompassing both clinical endpoints (e.g., complication rates) and patient-reported outcomes (e.g., satisfaction, functional improvement).
A cosmetic surgery practice implementing a new pre-operative screening protocol should evaluate its effectiveness by measuring:
Answer: Changes in complication rates and patient outcomes after protocol adoption
Effectiveness of a clinical protocol is best evaluated by measuring its impact on intended clinical outcomes, such as changes in complication rates.