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Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP), a national
quality partnership, is promising to be a transformational
effort to prevent postoperative complications in
the United States. The partnership has set its goal
to reduce surgical complications by 25 percent nationally
by the year 2010 in four target areas: surgical
site infections and cardiac, respiratory and venous
thromboembolic complications.
ASA is an active partner in the development of SCIP.
A national SCIP steering committee has been working
together since 2003 to develop a quality improvement
framework to improve both patient safety and the
quality of care for surgical services nationwide.
In preparation for an official launch in summer
2005, several developmental activities are currently
under way, including completion of a three-state
demonstration pilot; the formation of four technical
expert panels to provide specialized guidance for
improving each of the four target areas; and development
of information, materials and evidence-based strategies
to help hospitals and their professional staffs
participate — and succeed — in this
national effort.
The SCIP steering committee consists of 10 public
and private organizations, including the Agency
for Healthcare Research and Quality, the American
College of Surgeons, the American Hospital Association,
ASA, the Association of periOperative Registered
Nurses, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services (CMS), the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, the Department of Veterans Affairs,
the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and the
Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare
Organizations.
Preliminary information about the SCIP partnership
was presented to the medical community for the first
time at the American College of Surgeons Congress
held October 10-14, 2004, in New Orleans, Louisiana,
by one of the SCIP steering committee members, David
S. Hunt, M.D., F.A.C.S., medical officer with the
CMS Quality Improvement Group.
For more information, visit and bookmark the SCIP
partnership’s Web site at <www.MedQIC.org/scip>.
More information about this partnership will appear
in future issues of the ASA NEWSLETTER.
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