Memorial Receives National Recognition For Achievements Through Tennessee Surgical Quality Collaborative

  • Thursday, July 31, 2014

Memorial has been nationally recognized for its participation in the Tennessee Surgical Quality Collaborative (TSQC), which has reduced surgical complications by 19.7 percent since 2009. This reduction represents at least 533 lives saved and $75.2 million in reduced costs in Tennessee in the last three years. 

The recognition came as part of a presentation at the American College of Surgeons (ACS) National Surgical Quality Collaborative Improvement Program’s (NSQIP) national conference in New York City on July 28. 

“Memorial is thrilled to be recognized as part of this collaborative approach that has resulted in reduced surgical complications and costs while helping save lives,” says Kevin Lewis, M.D., Chief Medical Office at Memorial. “Sharing and comparing data, evaluating best practices and aligning efforts of health care professionals and hospitals around quality improvement continues to have a substantial and sustained impact on patient care.” 

The hospital collaborative formed in 2008 as a partnership of the Tennessee Chapter of the American College of Surgeons and the Tennessee Hospital Association’s Tennessee Center for Patient Safety, with support from the Tennessee Health Foundation, the philanthropic arm of BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee. 

Through the ACS NSQIP program, TSQC hospitals collected 30-day clinical outcomes data from participating hospitals to examine and identify trends in performance and evaluate best practices. Between 2009 and 2012, participating hospitals collected data on more than 55,000 surgical procedures and researchers examined rates of 17 different types of surgical complications. 

An earlier study based on TSQC data published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons in 2012 showed the 10 TSQC members reduced complication rates and saved more than $8 million in excess costs from 2009 to 2010. This new study shows TSQC hospitals continued to improve in the years after the program launched. In 2012, the collaborative expanded and now includes 22 Tennessee hospitals. 

“The TSQC has helped align the efforts of hospitals and surgeons around quality improvement, which supports the THA board of directors' commitment toward zero incidents of preventable harm in our state's hospitals,” stated Craig A. Becker, THA president. “This collaborative is an excellent example of how the hospital association, physicians, hospitals and payers can work together to improve care using clinically valid measures in a cooperative way.”

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