Individual surgeon mortality rates: can outliers be detected? A national utility analysis.
Ewen M HarrisonThomas M DrakeStephen O'NeillCatherine A ShawO James GardenStephen J WigmorePublished in: BMJ open (2016)
At present, surgeons with increased mortality rates are unlikely to be detected. Performance within an expected mortality rate range cannot be considered reliable evidence of acceptable performance. Alternative approaches should focus on commonly occurring meaningful outcome measures, with infrequent events analysed predominately at the hospital level.