The medical community is increasingly aware of the need for high-quality and high-value patient care. Anesthesiologists in particular have long demonstrated leadership in the field of quality and safety. Cardiothoracic anesthesiologists can improve the quality of care delivered to cardiac patients both with anesthesia-specific practices and in a team-based approach with other perioperative care providers. Collecting large volumes of multicentered data to study, measure, and improve anesthesia care is one of the many commitments of cardiothoracic anesthesiologists to this cause. This article reviews this and other aspects of the work of cardiothoracic anesthesiologists to improve value-added care to cardiac patients.
Keywords: cardiac surgery; cardiothoracic anesthesiology; outcomes; quality care; value-added care.