NSQIP Risk Calculator
Surgical consultations can require patients to deal with difficult and complex information, provoking anxiety that diminishes their ability to process information or recall vital details. In the past, surgeons have assessed the risks of surgery through the lens of their own experience. Today, ACS NSQIP data powers a preoperative risk calculator tool that allows clinicians to input an individual patient’s risk factors, such as age, sex and BMI, into a statistical model that calculates the likelihood of various outcomes. Physicians receive charts indicating the patient’s specific risk, based on their own risk factors. The tool aids physicians in speaking with their patients about risks and benefits of procedures and helps in the informed consent process.
Risk calculators have been developed for common procedures, such as pancreatectomy, colorectal and bariatric surgeries, with calculators for additional procedures in development. They provide better predictive ability than most other models across a range of outcomes, including morbidity, serious morbidity and mortality.