Patient Safety

- Surgical Care Improvement Project

Of the more than 42 million operations performed in the United States each year, up to 40 percent have associated postoperative complications, such as infection, thromboembolic events, respiratory complications and adverse cardiac events. These complications greatly impact patients and account for 2.4 million additional hospital stays and $9.3 billion in additional charges each year. A significant percentage of these complications are preventable.

SCIP is a national quality partnership of organizations committed to improving patient safety by reducing postoperative complications. The SCIP partnership seeks to substantially reduce surgical mortality and morbidity through collaborative efforts. The ultimate goal is to save lives by reducing the incidence of surgical complications by 25 percent by the year 2010. Hospitals that worked with
IFMC - IL saw a reduction in failure rate of 37.3 percent for the 8th SOW SCIP measures.

IFMC - IL, in partnership with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement will continue to assist providers in improving surgical care through better adherence to evidence-based practice recommendations. IFMC - IL will provide technical and professional assistance and support for hospitals participating in SCIP. IFMC - IL will work actively with frontline staff in the operating room and holding area, PCAU, surgical intensive care unit and the various post-operative surgical floors.

Working with IFMC - IL on SCIP will:
• Engage leadership and frontline staff
• Incorporate quality improvement into everyday practices
• Increase use of results (data) in performance improvement activities
• Evaluate current interventions and strategies

For information on working with IFMC - IL on SCIP, contact the Patient Safety Team at 1-800-386-6431.

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