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Surgical Care Improvement Project PDF Print E-mail

What is important in the care of a patient having surgery?

The graph below demonstrates Anderson Hospital’s performance for each one of the treatment recommendations for surgical care compared to the performance of other hospitals nationwide.

  1. Antibiotic to Prevent Infection Received Within 1 hour Prior to Surgical Incision
  2. Antibiotic to Prevent Infection Discontinued Within 24 Hours After Surgery
  3. Appropriate Selection of Antibiotic to Prevent Infection
  4. Appropriate Hair Removal Prior to Surgery
  5. Orders Written for Surgery Patients to Receive Recommended Treatment to Prevent Blood Clots
  6. Surgery Patients Receive Recommended Treatment to Prevent Blood Clots

SCIP (SURGICAL CARE IMPROVEMENT PROJECT)

  1. Antibiotic received within 1 hour prior to surgical incision to prevent infection. Patients who receive an antibiotic within 1 hour of surgery have a lower risk of infection. This measure reports the percentage of patients who received an antibiotic within 1 hr or surgery incision time. Back to top of page.
  2. Antibiotics given to prevent infection are discontinued within 24 hours after surgery end time. Giving antibiotics for more than 24 hours after the incision is closed has shown to offer no added benefit in preventing infections. In addition, it can potentially increase the risk of causing other types of infections as well as developing bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics. This measure reports the percentage of surgery patients, given antibiotics to prevent infection during surgery, whose antibiotics were discontinued within 24 hours after surgery. Back to top of page.
  3. Appropriate antibiotic selection for surgical patients to prevent infection. According to current guidelines, certain antibiotics are recommended for different types of surgery. The guidelines recommend antibiotics that are safe, cost effective and that cover most bacteria that a patient could be exposed to during surgery. This measure reports the percentage of patients who received the appropriate antibiotic for the type of surgery they had. Back to top of page.
  4. Surgery patients who had appropriate hair removal (at the surgery site). Studies show that shaving with a razor causes skin abrasions that may become infected. The recommendation is for either no hair removal or hair removal with clippers or depilatory. This measure reports the percentage of surgery patients who had hair removal from the surgery site with either clippers or depilatory or who had no hair removal. Back to top of page.
  5. Recommended treatment for prevention of blood clots was ordered. This measure reports the percentage of patients who had the correct treatment ordered to prevent blood clots according to the type of surgery they had. Back to top of page.
  6. Surgery patients who received the recommended treatment for prevention of blood clots within 24 hrs after surgery. This measure reports the percentage of patients who received the recommended treatment within 24 hours before surgery until 24 hours after surgery. Back to top of page.
  7. Colorectal surgery patients with normal body temperature.  This measure looks at patients having colon or rectal surgery and their body temperature within 15 minutes of leaving the operating room. Research shows that maintaining a normal body temperature can help prevent complications such as infection, longer wound healing time, and heart and breathing problems. This measure reports the percentage of colorectal surgery patients whose temperature was greater than or equal to 96.8 degrees Farenheit within 15 minutes of leaving the operating room. Back to top of page.
  8. Surgery patients on Beta Blocker Therapy prior to arrival who received a beta blocker during the perioperative period.  Beta blockers are medications that affect the heart. If patients are taking this type of medication at home, it is recommended that the patient continue this medication to reduce the risk of possible complications. This measure reports the percentage of surgery patients, on a beta blocker medication, who received a beta blocker either before surgery, during surgery or in the recovery room. Back to top of page.

For more information on these quality measures, please check Hospital Compare.
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