Data-Driven Transformation: The Operative Encounter Registry for Quality Improvement, Planning and Advocacy

Building on momentum generated by World Health Assembly Resolution 76.2 in 2023, through which Member States committed to health system strengthening for integrated emergency, critical, and operative care, including surgery and anaesthesia, an urgent priority will be addressing critical gaps in health data, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Resolution 76.2 recommends the use of clinical registries and audits for tracking disease burden and improving coordination, safety, and quality of care. This is on the background of Resolution 68.15 and Decision 70.22 both of which also recommended tracking of operative cases.

The Operative Encounter Registry Working Group of the G4 Alliance aims to bridge the global information gap on surgical care provision. Through collaboration with partners, the working group has provided extensive technical inputs into the development of WHO’s Dataset for Operative Care. This represents a minimum variable set that has been used to form the basis of the operative case management on WHO’s free, online, and open-source DHIS-2 based Clinical Registry. This will allow for the routine collection of data on surgical and anaesthesia care across a range of resource settings globally.

This innovative tool is designed to facilitate audit and quality improvement starting at the facility level, while over time establishing a robust, data-driven foundation for decision-making and prioritization at the local, national, and global levels.

This multi-stakeholder event, alongside the 77th World Health Assembly, will showcase the Operative Encounter Registry and the WHO Clinical Registry platform. We will highlight current progress, next steps for launching the registry, and engage with key stakeholders to share the transformative potential of this initiative. This event will serve as a platform to garner support, catalyze partnerships, and advocate for integrating the Operative Encounter Registry into global health policies and frameworks.

Details of the Demonstration Project of the Operative Encounter Registry conducted by the G4 Alliance to assess the variables and the viability of their collection will be presented along with the benefits of such a database improving quality of care in LMICs.

Partners: Global Alliance for Surgical, Obstetric, Trauma, and Anaesthesia Care (G4 Alliance), International Federation of Surgical Colleges (IFSC), World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA), Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)