Do regular morbidity and mortality conferences reduce preventable death rates? Our experience at Princess Marina Hospital

Summary Background The role of morbidity and mortality conferences (M&MC) in surgical departments is to provide education and improve patient care. However, there is sparse evidence in the literature that M&MCs reduce preventable deaths. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the impact of routine M&MC on reducing the preventable death rate over 4 years at a tertiary hospital in Botswana. Methods This study used a quantitative research methodology. In this retrospective audit of the M&MC data, we collected all mortality data for the surgery department from the time the database started, July 2016, to December 2019. The department adopted and adapted the criteria and definitions of preventability based on the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for trauma quality improvement programs. We used the Pearson correlation statistic to evaluate the correlation between the time (years) since the start of routine M&MC and the preventable death rate. Ethical approval for the study was obtained. Results There were 4660 registered admissions from July 2016 to December 2019. Of these, 267 deaths were recorded, resulting in a crude mortality rate of 6%. Overall, the department considered 23% (61/267) of the deaths as preventable. A strong linear correlation ( R 2 = 0.982, p = 0.009) was found between the preventable death rate and time (years) since the commencement of routine M&MC. Trauma was the leading cause of preventable deaths (24.6%, 15/61). Conclusion Our findings suggest that routine M&MCs have the desired effect of reducing preventable death rates. Further studies are required to investigate this observed effect.