International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics : the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics
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Int J Gynaecol Obstet · Oct 2016
Establishment of a national severe maternal morbidity preventability review in New Zealand.
Severe maternal morbidity (SMM) review is an accepted quality measure to evaluate maternity care standards. Assessment of the potential preventability of SMM enables identification of factors and themes to inform clinical training and policy to improve maternal outcomes. The present report outlines the introduction of a national/regional external case review system using multidisciplinary panels to assess potential preventability of SMM, to assist other health jurisdictions to establish similar processes. ⋯ This process established a quality monitoring tool to quantitate potential preventability of SMM, and identify practice and policy themes that can be reported locally and nationally for quality improvement. To our knowledge, this is the first national SMM preventability review using an internationally validated tool enabling intercountry comparisons. On the basis of this research, the New Zealand Ministry of Health funded the translation of the process to ongoing SMM national preventability review.