ABCS Quality Assurance & Improvement 2

Question 1

Which metric is MOST useful when benchmarking a cosmetic surgery practice's complication rate against national standards?

Accepted Answer

Risk-adjusted complication rate

Answer

Risk-adjusted complication rates account for patient complexity, enabling fair comparison against national benchmarks.

Question 2

A QI team discovers that 30% of patients are not receiving pre-operative antibiotic prophylaxis on schedule. The BEST immediate corrective action is:

Accepted Answer

Implement a pre-operative checklist that includes antibiotic timing

Answer

A structured pre-operative checklist creates a reliable system-level safeguard against missed antibiotic doses.

Question 3

In the context of ABCS quality standards, 'sentinel event' review is required when:

Accepted Answer

An unexpected death or serious patient harm occurs

Answer

Sentinel events are unexpected occurrences involving death or serious physical or psychological harm, triggering mandatory root-cause analysis.

Question 4

Which statistical tool is BEST suited for identifying the most common causes of a recurring surgical complication?

Accepted Answer

Pareto chart

Answer

A Pareto chart ranks causes by frequency, identifying the 'vital few' causes responsible for the majority of problems.

Question 5

During a peer review of a rhinoplasty outcome, reviewers should primarily evaluate:

Accepted Answer

Adherence to accepted standards of care and appropriateness of clinical decisions

Answer

Peer review focuses on whether clinical decisions and technical execution met accepted standards of care.

(ABCS) American Board of Cosmetic Surgery Certification Practice Test