Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative

Medical Specialty Societies

The Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative is a regional group of hospitals and surgeons that perform bariatric surgery in Michigan.

“The ArborMetrix team is always available and willing to help member hospitals meet their goals and to support the needs of the registry.”

Amir Ghaferi, M.D., M.S.

Program Director, Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative

Customer Since

2011

Clinical Registry Use Cases

Quality Improvement Research

Harnessing Data to Advance Science, Improve Outcomes

Formed in 2005, the Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative (MBSC) aims to innovate the science and practice of metabolic and bariatric surgery through comprehensive, lifelong, patient-centered obesity care-in Michigan and across the United States. MBSC was the proud recipient of the 2011 BCBSA Best of Blue and BlueWorks Awards. 2

Quality Improvement initiatives implemented to date include:

  • Intravenous (IVC) Filter use
  • Reducing rate of Emergency Department (ED) visits (MPIRRE)
  • Examining the relationship between hospital safety culture and complications.
  • Implementing VTE prophylaxis guidelines.
  • Preventing Surgical Site Infections (SSIs).
  • Assessing and improving surgeon’s technical skill.
  • Improving patient decision making in bariatric surgery
  • Engaging primary care physicians (PCPs) in the longitudinal care of bariatric surgery patients

MBSC’s custom-built registry is powered and fully supported on the ArborMetrix platform. The partnership dates back to 2011, when MBSC became ArborMetrix’s first customer. Since the initial configuration of the registry, ArborMetrix has supported MBSC in powering additional features and functionality such as outcomes calculators, patient-reported outcomes, and video surgical analysis.

Research and quality improvement efforts of the collaborative have resulted in significant reductions in mortality and complication rates following bariatric surgery in Michigan. MBSC and its members have published noteworthy research in the New England Journal of Medicine and the Annals of Surgery, among other leading journals. MBSC has also been featured multiple times in the New York Times.

Featured Results

MBSC and its members have collectively achieved outstanding, life-saving results and greatly enhanced care for their patients. A few highlights include:

  • Decrease in hospital stay >5 days following bariatric surgery by 65% (2007-2023)
  • Decrease in post-surgical deaths by 67% (2007-2023)
  • Decrease in readmissions by 52% (2007 vs 2023 overall)
  • Decrease in overall complication rates by 32% (2007-2023)
  • Decrease in surgical site infections by 63% (2006-2023)
  • Decreased MME prescribing rate by 76% (2017-2023)
  • Decrease in IVC filter placed to 100% (0 IVC filters placed in 2023)

Learn more about MBSC at https://www.mbscsurgery.org/

References

1. MBSC Website. Accessed June 2026.  <https://www.mbscsurgery.org/>

2. 2024 Collaborative Quality Initiative Fact Sheet: Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative. Accessed May 2026. https://www.mbscsurgery.org/_files/ugd/d5fc0a_9d26c10b5ccc4dff9466477abdb70e4a.pdf