[Clinical practice variation in cataract surgery]

Abstract

Purpose: Cataract surgery rates have dramatically increased in the last two decades. However, clinical practice variation in cataract surgery has not been thoroughly studied. The aim of this review is to analyze clinical practice variation, including the causes and consequences of this phenomenon. Then, its role in health care planning and health care quality is focused, emphasizing the importance of reducing it and providing several practical strategies to accomplish it.

Recent findings: The latest researches are presented in this article. They identify the development and implementation of clinical practice guidelines as the best tool to standardize care processes.

Conclusion: Managing unwarranted or unwanted variation would improve quality of care and may lead to a significant saving in health care spending.

Keywords: Cataract; Cataract extraction; Cataract surgery; Cataract surgery rate; Catarata; Cirugía de la catarata; Clinical practice variations; Extracción de la catarata; Tasa de cirugía de la catarata; Variaciones en la práctica clínica.