A contingent of the Perioperative Services team recently attended the American College of Surgeons' Quality and Safety Conference, to share knowledge and collaborate on ideas that improve quality, safety, and outcomes for surgical patients.
With two podium presentations and four poster abstracts, the team covered a breadth of subjects including an evaluation of the Shared Decision-Making training module, NSH's Colorectal Scorecard, accuracy in surgical site infection coding, and the meritorious status at Yarmouth Regional Hospital.
In 2017, as part of effort to improve quality, Nova Scotia Health joined ACS’s National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP), with 11 hospitals across the province participating. Registered nurses call surgical patients 30 days after surgery to collect information on their recovery, which helps NSQIP teams focus on how surgical care can be improved.
A key focus of our surgical strategy is a commitment to quality initiatives that can improve patient outcomes, prevent complications, and support prompt recoveries. This can help us reduce other pressures on the healthcare system, like longer hospital stays, emergency visits, repeat surgeries and readmissions.
The ACS Quality and Safety Conference provided a professional forum for surgical teams to discuss and apply the most recent knowledge pertaining to national, international, and local quality and safety initiatives in the field of surgery.
From left to right: Karen Doherty, Network Leader; Cindy Connolly, Senior Director; Sara Bates, Senior Analyst; Dr. Greg Hirsch, Senior Medical Director; Ryan Gainer, Health Outcomes Scientist.
