Audit
Welcome from Audit Lead
The BAETS Audit known as UKRETS, has collected data on Thyroid, Parathyroid, Adrenal and Pancreatic endocrine procedures since 2004. The database now contains the outcomes and demographic data on over 160,000 operations. This is a large volume of cases with several million datapoints to guide our practices.
The registry is owned by the BAETS and run by a company called Dendrite who specialise in hosting surgical registries. Members are required to enter their cases onto UKRETS to be eligible to vote at AGMs of the BAETS.
To apply to submit data and be part of the audit please contact info@baets.org.uk who will facilitate your application to Dendrite.
Several research papers have been written based on UKRETS data over the past 20 years. These papers and audit volumes have shown how re-operation for dangerous bleeding in the neck has fallen with the use of haemostatic technology. How measuring IOPTH in real time can help predict successful surgery and allow surgery to end. Lastly, it has shown how the incidence of voice change can be reduced with nerve monitoring and just how high the incidence of RLN palsy was post thyroid/parathyroid surgery.
- We offer a dashboard of your outcomes for a timepoint that you can set and change as required. Use this for appraisal and revalidation and to evidence your practice to patients.
- Opportunity to set up your own research studies or investigate outcomes nationally by applying the BAETS executive to be given the data set you need to complete your study. As the main author group, you will be named individually as an author and have final say on the manuscript and where it is submitted to. UKRETS Audit Application Form
- Opportunity to be a member of the ‘BAETS research consortium’ Any research using UKRETS is initially agreed to by the BAETS executive and if you have entered a minimum number of cases with sufficient data completeness to have been used in the research paper then you will have the opportunity to be a member of the ‘BAETS research consortium’ for that study with a PubMed/Medline recognised citation. You will need to confirm authorship and accept the final manuscript having had the opportunity to comment on it.
Patient Information Leaflet – BAETS Audit
UKRETS Privacy Notice
The importance of Data & Data entry
Large volume datasets and the emerging new discipline of data-science offer exciting alternatives to how we understand the pathology, demographics and results of treatment of disease. From a science methodology perspective, the more complete the data the better. In the past observational research conclusions were drawn from sample populations. With large volume datasets we can base conclusions on the whole population. This allows greater certainty and a change in research etiquette to learn from datasets.
The disadvantage is that no ‘map’ of a disease is complete if data points are missing or inaccurate. This can make using that map unreliable and in treating patients will add to the risk of error. Data completeness is key! We all can understand how making decisions based on incomplete data leads to us making mistakes. Worse still if we were to conclude from incomplete data what the risk of something is we will underestimate the risk and create an unachievable benchmark for us to try and achieve. Data completeness is key!
Quality Improvement and Data
All Quality improvements (QI) need a large dataset. This registry is your tool to continuous quality improvement in your practice. It will provide the evidence to justify changes in practice and changes in innovation use. It is the perfect partner for appraisal, revalidation and making business cases to your hospital.
Please do you use the database, but in using it commit to entering every case and every outcome not matter how awful it makes you feel. In the end you will be compared to a lower benchmark and your outcomes will improve.
