SOQIC is primarily engaged in surgical outcomes research and quality improvement, with interests in comparative effectiveness, implementation science, and health policy. Our research encompasses all surgical specialties and areas of medicine, with a particular focus on general surgery, surgical oncology and multidisciplinary oncology care, trauma and critical care, and vascular surgery. Our team has been incredibly successful in generating hundreds of publications in top-tier journals and acquiring many grants, including project grants, career development awards, and training grants.
Overview
The Surgical Education Numbered Trials (SENT) group leads National and International studies focused on improving the surgical residency experience and well-being for trainees. Continuing on the success of the Flexibility in Duty Hour Requirement for Surgical Trainees (FIRST) trial, 2019 saw the launch of The Surgical Education Culture Optimization through targeted interventions based on National comparative Data (SECOND) trial. In 2023, the SENT group will be launching the THIRD Trial, a project focused on expanding the improvement of organizational culture to better the work and learning environment in surgical departments and help address pressing issues with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in surgery. THIRD will also include a focus on faculty. The SENT projects work with 225 surgical departments in the United States and Canada, providing them with key performance data and ready to implement interventions designed to improve culture and wellness in surgical programs.
The SENT program is a collaboration with the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), the American College of Surgeons (ACS), the American Board of Surgery (ABS) and the Association of Program Directors in Surgery (APDS).
Research Team
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Lead faculty: Karl Bilimoria, MD, MS and Yue-Yung Hu, MD, MPH
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Collaborating Faculty: Julie Johnson, MSPH, PhD; Gaurava Agarwal, MD; David Hoyt, MD; Thomas Nasca, MD; Josh Eng, PhD; Egide Abahuje, MD; Dawn Coleman, MD; Malachi Sheahan III, MD; Heather Ballard, MD; Audrey Rosenblatt, PhD, cRNA; Dimitrios Stefanidis, MD
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Current Fellows: Maya Hunt, MD; Kristen Kaiser, MD; Jackson Baril, MD; Meghan Lark, MD; Austin Airhart, MD; Alexa Hughes, MD; Andrew Thyen, MD; Sarah Huber, MD
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Past Fellows: Ryan Ellis, MD; Brock Heweitt, MD; Tarik Yuce, MD; Rhami Khorfan, MD; Cary Jo Schlick, MD; Lindsey Zhang, MD; Meixi Ma, MD; Brian Brajcich, MD; Matt Chia, MD; Chelsea Fischer, MD; Rachel Joung, MD; Andrew Hu, MD; Debbie Li, MD; Brian Nasca, MD; Bona Ko, MD; Jennifer Delgado, MD; Darci Foote, MD; Chrisine Wu, MD; Samuel Linton, MD; Casey Silver, MD; Michael Visenio, MD; Eric Pillado, MD; Samantha Warwar, MD; Kimberly Golisch, MD; Joanna Swinarska, MD; Lauren Janczewski, MD; Catherine Valukas, MD; Suhail Zeineddin, MD
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Staff: Daniela Amórtegui, MA; Natalia Mackiewicz, BA; Nate Monson, MS; Tia Zhan, MS.
Funding Sources
The SECOND Trial is a partnership among the following:
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Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)
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American College of Surgeons (ACS)
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American Board of Surgery (ABS)
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Association of Program Directors in Surgery (APDS)
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Society of Surgical Chairs (SSC)
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Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC)
Selected High-Impact Publications
Overview
Obesity (body mass index >30 kg/m2) has reached epidemic proportions in the United States. Obesity and its associated comorbidities, such as cardiovascular disease and type II diabetes, constitute a large burden on the US health care system. Bariatric surgery as well as Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists and related medications (GLP1-RA) represent effective treatments for obesity. Yet, both treatments remain underutilized. Concerns have been raised regarding disparities in obesity treatment delivery, based on patient-, clinician-, and health system-factors. Furthermore, the recent approval of GLP1-RAs for obesity treatment contributes to considerable confusion regarding appropriate use of medical, surgical, or a combination of both modalities to treat obesity. The body of work associated with this program seeks to address three key gaps in knowledge about obesity treatment: (1) Lack of population-level understanding for current use of medical and surgical obesity treatments; (2) Contributors to variation in use of the treatments following approval and increased interest in use of GLP-1RA for obesity treatment; and (3) Lack of tools to aid patients and clinicians in selecting and delivering medical and surgical obesity treatments.
Research Team
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Lead faculty: Tarik Yuce, MD, MS; Dimitrios Stefanidis, MD, PhD
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Collaborating Faculty: Emma Holler, PhD; Jane Holl, PhD, Karl Bilimoria, MD, MS
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Current fellows: Qais AbuHasan, MD; Austin Airhart, MD
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Staff: Katie Ernsberger
Funding Sources
- This project was funded with support from the Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute which is funded in part by Award Number K12TR004415 from the National Institutes of Health, National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Clinical and Translational Sciences Award.
- This research is supported by the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).
Selected High-Impact Publications
AbuHasan Q, Hilgendorf W, Giannopoulos S, Athanasiadis DI, Yuce TK, Stefanidis D. The Ability of Healthcare Professionals to Predict Patient Outcomes Following Bariatric Surgery. J Surg Res. 2025 Jan 6;306:129-136.
Overview
Our team has been involved in pioneering work leveraging existing clinical registries, specifically the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP), to perform pragmatic randomized controlled trials. This included the first ever NSQIP-linked trial in surgery, which established piperacillin-tazobactam as standard of care perioperative antibiotic for patients undergoing the Whipple Procedure due to significant improvements in postoperative infections. We are leading or co-leading two additional registry-linked perioperative clinical trials in surgery designed to define optimal care for those patients undergoing complex surgery.
Research Team
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Lead faculty: Ryan Ellis, MD
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Collaborating Faculty: Numerous faculty members across multiple institutions
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Current fellows: Alexa Hughes, MD
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Staff: Katie Ernsberger
Funding Sources
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Americas Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association
Selected High-Impact Publications
Overview
The Transplant Research for Enhancing Access Team (TREAT) is a multidisciplinary collaborative team of clinicians, biostatisticians, epidemiologists, behavioral scientists, and data scientists from the Regenstrief Institute and the Indiana University Department of Surgery. TREAT conducts transplant health services and outcomes research.
The main goal of TREAT is to improve patients’ access to needed services at each step of the transplant care process. We strive to achieve this goal through a better collection of surveillance data on the early steps of transplantation (e.g., a referral to a transplant center and the start of the transplant evaluation process at the transplant center), conducting important epidemiologic and mixed methods analyses to determine the barriers and facilitators of access to transplant, testing the efficacy and effectiveness of interventions to improve access to transplant, and disseminating and implementing these interventions across the region and nation. Our team also has an interest in revising and developing better quality metrics that incentivize transplant access for health systems, as we know that health system barriers and health policy can often be the largest levers to change.
Research Team
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Lead faculty: Rachel Patzer, PhD, MPH
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Core faculty: Kelsey Drewry, PhD, MA; Katie Ross-Driscoll, PhD, MPH; Adam Wilk, PhD
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Collaborating Faculty: Jonathan Fridell, MD; Marci Laster, MD; Neha Pottanat, MD; Angelitta Britt-Spells, PhD; Stephen Pastan, MD; Jess Harding, PhD; Megan Urbanski, PhD, MSW
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Current fellows: Cathy Kelty, PhD; Sarah Huber, MD
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Staff: Arrey-Takor Ayuk-Arrey, MPH; Jade Buford, MPH; Mengyu Di, MPH
Funding Sources
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The efforts of the Transplant Research for Enhancing Access Team have been funded by the NIH and Indiana University.
Current
R01MD017080 – Impact of randomized payment incentives on disparities in home dialysis and kidney transplant (PIs: Patzer, Trivedi) - NIH
R01DK136284 – The RaDIANT health systems intervention for equity in kidney transplantation (PIs: Patzer, Pastan) - NIH
K01MD018455 – Identifying determinants of access to the early steps of liver transplant in the Southeast (PI: Ross-Driscoll) - IU
K01DK128384 – Multi-level factors that influence dialysis facilities’ assessments of patient suitability for transplantation (PI: Wilk)
Past
R01MD017080 – Improving quality and access to early steps in kidney transplantation (PIs: Patzer, Pastan) - NIH
- R01MD011682 – Reducing disparities among kidney transplant recipients (PIs: Patzer, Adams) - NIH
- R01DK11489 – Reducing disparities in living donor transplant among African Americans (PIs: Patzer, Arriola)
- U01MD010611 – Reducing disparities in access to kidney transplantation: the RaDIANT regional study (PI: Patzer)
R01MD010290 – Evaluation of racial disparities in access to kidney transplantation in new national kidney allocation policy (PI: Patzer) --- National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIH)
Selected High-Impact Publications
Patzer RE, Plantinga LC, Paul S, Gander J, Krisher J, Sauls L, Gibney EM, Mulloy L, Pastan SO. Variation in dialysis facility referral for kidney transplantation among patients with end-stage renal disease in Georgia. Jama. 2015 Aug 11;314(6):582-94.
Overview
These research groups focus on studies related to Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Programs (HVIPs) and community violence reduction. They are collaborative efforts across hospital systems including Indiana University Health, Eskenazi Health, and Ascension St. Vincent and membership is multidisciplinary, with representation including epidemiologists, psychologists, and surgeons. As a team, these groups have published quantitative and qualitative research in high impact journals and have presented their work at local forums and national conferences including the conference of the Health Alliance for Violence Intervention (HAVI) and the National Research Conference for the Prevention of Firearm-Related Harms. Recent work includes a comprehensive analysis of combined trauma registry and IMPD data of nonfatal shooting survivors, and a qualitative analysis of 10 innovation forums with representatives from government, healthcare, and community organizations to generate solutions for community violence reduction. Next steps will focus on implementing high priority solutions.
Research Team
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Lead faculty: Damaris Ortiz, MD
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Collaborating Faculty: Lauren Magee, PhD; Matthew Landman, MD; Brigid Rose Marriott, PhD; Jessica Belchos Ragland, MD; Zachary W Adams, PhD; Linda Schutzman, MD; Joseph O’Neil, MD; Jodi Raymond; Jamie Williams; Tiffany Davis; Blakney Brooks
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Staff: Akrem Ahmed, Hannah Ruth Allison, Samantha Padgett
Funding Sources
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This work has been funded by the NIH as well as Lilly Endowment, Inc.
5K12HS026390-04: Leveraging infrastructure to train investigators in patient centered outcomes research in the learning health system (LITI-PCORLHS). (from 9/2021-10/2023)
The study interviews were funded by the Indiana Clinical and Translational Science Award from the National Institutes of Health, National Center of Advancing Translational Sciences, Clinical and Translational sciences Award
- Lilly Endowment, Inc (Specifically for Hope Re-entry ). This project is an extension of the HVIP Prescription for Hope, providing an intervention to Black men with prior involvement with the criminal justice system, to aid them in community re-entry.
Selected High-Impact Publications
Overview
Our work focuses on multidisciplinary groups of oncology care providers and quality leaders who seek to align and improve cancer care across the system. We aim to equip hospitals and individual providers with skills to identify their local performance gaps in cancer care in a rigorous manner based on high-quality data, and then implement solutions to those problems using established process improvement methods. The collaboratives will ultimately measurably improve adherence to best practice guidelines, quality of care, and outcomes while reducing variation and costs arising from unsafe, inefficient, or inappropriate care. Moreover, our group is known for several landmark studies in oncology outcomes and cancer care delivery.
Leveraging our work within the IU Health system, we have founded the Iliana Cancer Collaborative (ILCC), a first-of-its kind statewide cancer collaborative. Its mission is to convene a multidisciplinary learning collaborative of Illinois and Indiana hospitals improving the safety and quality of care for cancer patients. The ILCC offers novel strategies to support effective QI in oncology: (1) guided implementation and mentoring of QI projects, (2) high-quality, Illinois-specific comparative data augmenting the NCDB, (3) cancer-specific QI resources and education, (4) statewide sharing of best practices.
Research Team
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Lead faculty: Anthony Yang, MD, MS
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Collaborating Faculty: Numerous faculty members across departments, hospitals, and specialties
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Staff: Brianna D’Orazio, MPH
Funding Sources
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This work has been funded by the NIH/NCI, AHRQ, American Cancer Society, NCCN, and the IU Department of Surgery.
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Statewide collaboratives are supported by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (R01HS024516) and reflect a partnership with the American College of Surgeons.
Selected High-Impact Publications
Ellis RJ, Ho JW, Schlick CJR, Merkow RP, Bentrem DJ, Bilimoria KY, Yang AD. National Use of Chemotherapy in Initial Management of Stage I Pancreatic Cancer and Failure to Perform Subsequent Resection. Ann Surg Oncol. 2020;27(3):909-918.
Overview
Evaluating the impact of policy initiatives on healthcare quality measurement, improvement and delivery has been a focus area of IU SOQIC, and this work has resulted in numerous changes in national quality measurement, pay-for-performance programs, and public hospital quality rating systems.
Research Team
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Lead faculty: Karl Bilimoria, MD, MS
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Collaborating Faculty: Jeanette Chung, PhD; Ryan Merkow, MD, MS
Funding Sources
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IU SOQIC’s Health Policy efforts have been supported by the NIH, AHRQ, the American College of Surgeons, and Northwestern Medicine.
Selected High-Impact Publications
Overview
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The Illiana Surgical Quality Improvement Collaborative (ISQIC) comprises over 50 hospitals in Illinois and Indiana. ISQIC provides participating hospitals with a formal quality and process improvement training curriculum, surgeon mentors, and process improvement coaches as well as financial support for the implementation of QI initiatives. ISQIC hospitals work together to improve surgical quality and safety by sharing their experiences, best practices, successes, and failures. In addition, ISQIC hospitals report and receive comparative feedback on key process measures with the ability to view and compare empirical data about hospital performance and participate in the ISQIC initiatives. Hospitals are equipped to use their data to successfully implement quality improvement (QI) initiatives and improve care.
Research Team
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Lead faculty: Anthony Yang, MD, MS; Ryan Merkow, MD MS; Karl Bilimoria, MD, MS
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Collaborating Faculty: Josh Waters, MD; Eugene Ceppa, MD; Thomas Birdas, MD; Jeanette Chung, PhD; Julie Johnson, MSPH, PhD; Yue-Yung Hu, MD, MPH; Nisha Mohindra, MD; David Odell, MD, MMSc; Mehul Raval, MD, MS; Sean Sachdev, MD; Sanjay Mohanty, MD; Ryan Ellis, MD, MS; Tarik Yuce, MD, MS; Katie Ross-Driscoll, PhD; Emma Holler, PhD
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Current Fellows: Kristen Kaiser, MD; Jackson Baril, MD; Meghan Lark, MD; Austin Airhart, MD; Alexa Hughes, MD; Andrew Thyen, MD; Sarah Huber, MD
Past Fellows: Casey Silver, MD; Tyler Robinson, MD
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Staff: Brianna D’Orazio, MPH; Nathan Monson, MS; Hannah Allison, MS; Katie Ernsberger, MPH; Brian Ruedinger, PhD
Funding Sources
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Statewide collaboratives are supported by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (R01HS024516) and reflect a partnership with the American College of Surgeons.
Selected High-Impact Publications
Overview
To date, most surgical quality improvement efforts have focused on preoperative and postoperative quality and safety with less work focusing on intraoperative care or surgical technique. Moreover, surgeons rarely receive feedback on their technical skills once done with training. Thus, we have developed multiple initiatives to leverage surgical video to improve surgeon technical skills. This is particularly valuable in the education of surgical trainees as well. This is done through peer coaching, scoring and comments from peers, and group discussions. Video-based feedback for the improvement of surgical technique leverages video of surgical procedures to facilitate discussions and learning. This work is carried out in the IU health system and through the Iliana Surgical Quality Improvement Collaborative (ISQIC).
Research Team
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Lead faculty: Karl Bilimoria, MD, MS; Anthony Yang, MD, MS
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Collaborating Faculty: Brian Gray, MD; Brian Carr, MD; Ambar Banerjee, MD; Sanjay Mohanty, MD, MS; Dimitrios Stefanidis, MD; Amy Holmstrom, MD
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Past Fellows: Bona Ko, MD, MPH; Andres Guerra, MD; Andrew Hu, MD; Brian Nasca, MD; Arielle Thomas, MD, MPH
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Staff: Brianna D’Orazio, MPH; Nathan Monson, MS; Katie Ernsberger, MPH
Funding Sources
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Video coaching efforts are supported by IU SOQIC, ISQIC/BCBS-IL
Selected High-Impact Publications
Overview
To identify opportunities to inform and improve the quality and delivery of surgical care, IU SOQIC researchers have conducted hundreds of outcomes research studies and developed tools to help clinicians provide better care.
Research Team
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Lead faculty: Anthony Yang, MD, MS and Ryan Merkow, MD, MS
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Collaborating Faculty: Karl Bilimoria, MD, MS; Yue-Yung Hu, MD, MPH; David Odell, MD, MMSc; Sanjay Mohanty, MD MS
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Staff: Brianna D’Orazio, MPH
Funding Sources
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IU SOQIC’s Perioperative Patient Safety and Surgical Safety efforts have been supported by the NIH, AHRQ, BCBS-IL, and numerous other organizations and societies.
Selected High-Impact Publications
Overview
Performance measurement has become integrated into national, regional, and local initiatives to improve healthcare quality, safety, outcomes, and equity in the U.S. Programs and policies increasingly tie reimbursement and reputation to performance. Patients often select where to seek care based on these ratings of healthcare quality, and payers and purchasers often use the ratings to direct patients on where to receive care. Our work in this space has focused on evaluating the scientific properties of healthcare performance measures and methodology underlying public and private quality ratings programs. Much of our research investigates measurement and program methodology to identify potential unintended consequences that may arise from issues related to measurement or methodology. Our objective has been to improve performance measurement, so stakeholders have better measures upon which to base their decisions regarding hospital performance. Our work in this space has frequently been published in high-impact journals such as JAMA and resulted in changes national policies and measurement programs, including those of U.S News, Vizient, and Medicare.
Research Team
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Lead faculty: Karl Y. Bilimoria, MD, MS; Jeanette W. Chung, PhD
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Collaborating Faculty: Cynthia Barnard, PhD, MBA, MSJS; Ryan P. Merkow, MD, MS
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Current Fellows: Michael Visenio, MD
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Past Fellows: Julia R. Berian, MD, MS; Eddie Blay, Jr., MD, MS; John Oliver DeLancey, MD; Mila H. Ju, MD, MS; Christine V. Kinnier, MD, MS; Jason B. Liu, MD; Christine A. Minami, MD, MS; Jennifer L. Paruch, MD, MS; Ravi Rajaram, MD, MSC
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Staff: Brianna D’Orazio, MPH
Selected High-Impact Publications
Bilimoria KY, Chung J, Ju MH, Haut ER, Bentrem DJ, Ko CY, Baker DW. Evaluation of Surveillance Bias and the Validity of the Venous Thromboembolism Quality Measure. JAMA. 2013;310(14):1482-1489. doi:10.1001/jama.2013.280048