C-GRS | Health Evidence Review | Patient Experience Survey (PEPES) | Tracking Endoscopy-Related Adverse Events
Quality and safety of endoscopic procedures is a priority in Alberta. The DHSCN has a number of projects underway to improve the quality of care, safety of our patients and support equitable and timely access to endoscopy services.
The Digestive Health SCN and Alberta Colorectal Cancer Screening Program (ACRCSP) have teamed up on a quality improvement initiative that evaluates the quality of endoscopy services using a standardized tool called the Canada-Global Rating Scale (C-GRS). The goal is to improve safety, effectiveness, and outcomes of screening, diagnostic and therapeutic procedures occurring in Alberta’s 50 endoscopy units.
Resources for Healthcare Providers
The DHSCN is working with Alberta Health and the Institute of Health Economics to (i) identify opportunities to improve the appropriateness of endoscopy procedures and (ii) determine the most effective implementation strategies for work that reduces low-yield procedures.
Patient feedback provides valuable information about patients’ experience and the quality of care provided by their endoscopy team. The Canada-Global Rating Scale (C-GRS) recommends seeking patient feedback annually and asking patients specifically about their experience with the consent process, comfort, equality of access, booking, choice, privacy and dignity.
In 2020, the DHSCN and ACRCSP collaborated with AHS Primary Data Support and patient volunteers to create a new, patient-focused, electronic Provincial Endoscopy Patient Experience Survey (PEPES).
Reports
Resources for Endoscopy Teams
Find out how your endoscopy unit can enroll and distribute the PEPES to your patients by emailing endoquality@ahs.ca
Safety is an important part of the Canada-Global Rating Scale (C-GRS), the quality improvement tool endorsed by the DHSCN and used by 50 endoscopy units in Alberta. The C-GRS highlights the need to identify adverse events (AEs) occurring within 14 days of an endoscopy procedure.
The DHSCN is conducting a study that quantifies the number of unplanned healthcare events (UHEs) and severe adverse events (AEs) that have occurred following an endoscopy. Researchers are looking at data captured in healthcare administrative databases to retrospectively assess how many UHEs and AEs have occurred. The goal is that this work will inform the development of future systems to be able to efficiently identify AEs/UHEs (emergency department visits or hospital admissions) in real-time.
