The American College of Surgeons recently announced several major changes to the trauma center verification process. One significant development is that data from the Trauma Quality Improvement Program (TQIP) will play a greater role in verification site visits. For trauma program leaders, this change presents both challenges and opportunities. This paid content was developed by…
Author: Angie Chisolm
Corrective action planning is a required part of loop closure for trauma performance improvement (PI). According to a recent survey, it is also one of the skills that PI leaders most want to improve. This paid content was developed by Trauma System News in cooperation with our sponsor.Last month, my team partnered with Trauma System…
A trauma team must provide at least 30 minutes of critical care before the hospital can bill for a trauma activation, so failure to capture critical care charges will reduce trauma program revenue dramatically. This paid content was developed by Trauma System News in cooperation with our sponsor.Unfortunately, critical care billing is widely misunderstood by…
The heart of trauma loop closure is corrective action. Trauma program leaders need to take concrete steps to ensure a past quality problem is less likely to affect future patients. However, action alone is not enough. To truly close the loop on an identified event, you need to demonstrate that corrective actions have been effective.…
Too many trauma programs are clinically strong but financially troubled. When this happens, hospital leaders may consider downgrading their trauma designation or even closing their trauma center. In my experience, this is usually unnecessary. The real problem is that no one in the hospital is an expert in trauma coding and billing. Often hospitals don’t…