Establishment of ANZTCR

In Australia, the majority of thyroid surgery is undertaken by specialist endocrine surgeons, represented by the Australian and New Zealand Endocrine Surgeons (ANZES). Long-standing and significant data regarding thyroid surgery have been collected at a number of academic and healthcare institutions across Australia. In 2016, ANZES agreed to lead the evolution of thyroid cancer quality improvement via the establishment of a multicentre, binational CQR for thyroid cancer which would include clinical indicators against which to monitor and benchmark clinical care. Across Australia and New Zealand it is likely that over 50 sites undertake surgery on patients with thyroid cancer including metropolitan, regional and private centres. Although confined to short-term follow-up at the outset, the importance of obtaining patient follow-up information to provide further evidence regarding long-term outcomes following treatment for thyroid cancer has also been identified, and will be implemented in a subsequent phase of the registry.