What is the right “scale” for a trauma quality program? Four years ago, the Michigan trauma community launched a region-level quality collaborative. Leaders say a regional collaborative is large enough to provide meaningful comparative data, but small enough to allow trauma teams to meet, build mutual trust and work together effectively on quality improvement. The…
Author: Robert Fojut
Collaborative trauma programs are rare but they can offer several benefits. In a collaborative program, two hospitals work together to function as a single Level I trauma center. Last week, however, a longstanding trauma collaboration between two Illinois hospitals came to an end. A similar agreement in Nebraska broke up last summer. If current trends…
The American College of Surgeons (ACS) released a statement Thursday urging health system leaders to base trauma center designation decisions on the needs of injured patients. The statement includes recommendations for optimizing trauma center allocation within regional trauma systems. The “Statement on Trauma Center Designation Based Upon System Need” was developed by the ACS Committee…
England’s National Health Service introduced regional trauma networks in 2012. Under the new system, 26 hospitals were designated as Major Trauma Centres (MTCs). At one hospital, becoming an MTC has led to care delays and higher complication rates for elderly hip fracture patients. The results were published in a recent paper in Injury, the official…
Trauma systems in the U.S. have developed dramatically in recent decades. But according to Barbara Gaines, MD, many aspects of trauma care today are designed primarily for adults. “We have built an active trauma system that works really well,” Dr. Gaines said. “But it is not always clear where children fit into the system.” Dr.…