The Dutch ColoRectal Audit (DCRA) is a mandatory, nationwide registry that captures detailed data on all primary colon and rectal cancer surgeries performed in hospitals across the Netherlands. It also includes patients with rectal cancer managed non-operatively through a “watchful waiting” approach.
Established in 2009 by and for medical specialists, the DCRA is governed by a Clinical Audit Board composed of clinicians and a patient representative and is funded by Health Insurers Netherlands. The audit systematically records information on patient characteristics, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes, including postoperative complications and mortality. Outcomes are case-mix adjusted for patient and tumour characteristics to enable fair and meaningful comparisons between hospitals.
In addition, the DCRA incorporates patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), ensuring that quality of care is evaluated not only from a clinical perspective but also from the patient’s viewpoint. The audit is managed by the Dutch Institute for Clinical Auditing (DICA), whose quality registries aim to improve outcomes and support shared decision-making by measuring care quality, providing benchmarked feedback to clinicians, fostering rapid-cycle improvement initiatives, and promoting transparency.
Learn more here: https://dica.nl/registratie/darmkanker-dcra