Surgery 2015-2017 Final Report 

The rate of surgical procedures continues to increase annually. The rate of procedures performed in freestanding ambulatory surgery centers increased by 300 percent in the 10-year period from 1996 to 2006. The rate of surgical procedures continues to increase annually. The rate of procedures performed in freestanding ambulatory surgery centers increased by 300 percent in the 10-year period from 1996 to 2006. In 2006, an estimated 53.3 million surgical and nonsurgical procedures were performed in U.S. ambulatory surgery centers, both hospital-based and freestanding. In 2010, 51.4 million inpatient procedures were performed in nonfederal hospitals in the United States. These data, and the potential for unintended consequences they portend, explain the continuing, intense interest in measurement of surgical events and improvements. On August 16-17, 2016, NQF convened the Surgery Standing Committee to evaluate 13 endorsed maintenance measures and 10 new measures related to surgical conditions and make recommendations for NQF endorsement. Fifteen measures were endorsed, and eight were not recommended for endorsement.