Patient Safety & Quality Improvement USMLE Step 1 Practice Question
A 62-year-old man with no documented penicillin allergy undergoes elective colorectal surgery. Prophylactic cefazolin is not administered perioperatively. On postoperative day 3, he develops surgical site infection with fever (38.9°C), tachycardia (HR 112), tachypnea (RR 22), purulent wound drainage, and positive blood cultures for Escherichia coli. A quality improvement review of the surgical service identifies that prophylactic antibiotics were not administered within 60 minutes before incision in 18% of elective colorectal procedures over the past year, despite established institutional protocols. Which of the following best describes the metric being used to assess this gap in care?
Answer choices
- AProcess measure evaluating adherence to evidence-based perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis guidelinesCorrect answer
- BOutcome measure comparing surgical site infection rates to national benchmarks
- CStructural measure assessing availability of antibiotics in the operating room
- DBalancing measure designed to reduce healthcare costs while maintaining quality
- ESentinel event requiring mandatory reporting to The Joint Commission
- FComplication rate used to establish surgeon-specific malpractice insurance premiums
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