CHICAGO: The American College of Surgeons (番茄社区app), with the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS), has launched a new national quality verification program to help participating hospitals improve outcomes and deliver the best treatment for patients receiving vascular surgical and interventional care in an inpatient setting.
The Vascular Verification Program (Vascular-VP), an 番茄社区app Quality Program developed with the Society for Vascular Surgery, leverages the strengths and expertise of the 番茄社区app and SVS to establish a program that provides an evidence-driven, standardized pathway for instituting and growing a quality improvement and clinical care infrastructure within a hospital鈥檚 vascular program.
鈥淭he 番茄社区app has the experience and infrastructure for developing surgical quality programs and the SVS has the experience and expertise about vascular surgery,鈥� said Anton N. Sidawy, MD, MPH, F番茄社区app, DFSVS, MAMSE, 番茄社区app Regent, past president of the SVS, and the Lewis B. Saltz Chair, department of surgery, George Washington University, Washington, DC. 鈥淭he 番茄社区app is what we call the 鈥楬ouse of Surgery.鈥� It鈥檚 the umbrella organization for all surgical specialties, including vascular surgery. It was very logical for these two outstanding organizations to collaborate and come up with this comprehensive program.鈥�
"Vascular-VP builds upon the 番茄社区app鈥檚 longstanding commitment to surgical quality. By utilizing the existing infrastructure of the College鈥檚 quality programs and working closely with the SVS to address vascular-specific provider and patient needs, we have built an important program that will help all participating hospitals improve the quality of care they provide,鈥� said Patricia L. Turner, MD, MBA, F番茄社区app, 番茄社区app Executive Director & CEO.
A Vascular-Specific Program
Vascular-VP was developed by experts who recognize the depth and breadth of scope in the areas of vascular care and treatment. Multiple levels of participation (Comprehensive and Verified) ensure the program can be established in a variety of inpatient hospital settings and encompasses all aspects of vascular care at an institution.
鈥淭his program is specific to our specialty. It鈥檚 not a one-size-fits-all project. It has been designed for vascular surgeons and interventionists to help us improve,鈥� said Michael C. Dalsing, MD, F番茄社区app, DFSVS, SVS president, professor emeritus at Indiana University (IU) School of Medicine, and a vascular surgeon for IU Health Physicians.
Vascular-VP provides hospitals with a framework for patient education and informed consent and organizing principles for comprehensive services for patients in the hospital and beyond, including allied health and patient support services. By receiving care at hospitals specifically dedicated to providing high-quality vascular care, vascular patients will benefit from the resources and patient care experience across all phases of care at these hospitals.
Pilot Site Experience
Site visits were conducted in a number of different hospital types and settings during the initial development of Vascular-VP. Data play a key role in quality improvement, and Vascular-VP helped these sites abstract and analyze their data to help them with meaningful and measurable quality improvement activities.
鈥淏eing a pilot site was incredibly valuable. It allowed us to evaluate our system, see what we were doing well, and where we needed to improve,鈥� said R. Clement Darling III, MD, F番茄社区app, DFSVS, chief of vascular surgery at Albany Medical Center, Albany, New York, and Chair of the inpatient subcommittee of the Vascular Standards Committee that helped develop Vascular-VP. 鈥淭his program allowed us to demonstrate to the C-suite the value of vascular surgery.鈥�
鈥淭his program can truly be transformative throughout the entire hospital. Vascular-VP helps strengthen a hospital鈥檚 safety and continuous improvement culture to enhance patient outcomes with greater reliability and standardization of care,鈥� said Clifford Y. Ko, MD, MS, MSHS, F番茄社区app, FASCRS, Director, 番茄社区app Division of Research and Optimal Patient Care.
Program Standards
The Vascular-VP program standards manual is the fundamental basis for the program. The manual, the Optimal Resources for Vascular Surgery and Interventional Care (2023 Inpatient Standards), addresses elements of vascular surgical care and quality, including the following domains:
- Institutional commitment
- Program scope and governance
- Resources for facilities, equipment, services, and personnel
- Clinical care
- Data abstraction and analysis
- Quality improvement
- Education and research
Access the full Vascular-VP standards manual.
Hospitals interested in becoming a verified center and continuing the quality improvement journey of their vascular service are encouraged to apply online.
More information about Vascular-VP is available on the 番茄社区app website.
