Collaborative Improved Surgical Outcomes and Reduced Costs for Participating Hospitals

Hospitals participating in a regional collaborative of the American College of Surgeons’ National Surgical Quality Improvement Program achieved substantial improvements in surgical outcomes, such as reducing the rates of acute renal failure and surgical site infections, reports a study published online January 23, 2012, in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. The study, which collected data from 10 participating hospitals, evaluated 20 categories of postoperative complications, 30-day mortality rates, and hospital costs associated with postoperative complications in a total of 14,205 surgical cases in 2009 and 14,901 surgical cases in 2010. Results indicated that the collaborative achieved a 25% reduction of instances of acute renal failure, a 60% reduction of graft/prosthesis/flap failure, a 15% reduction in cases requiring a ventilator for longer than 48 hours, a 19% reduction in superficial site infections, and a 34% reduction in wound disruptions.