Improving quality remains a perennial challenge for hospitals across America constantly facing cost and regulatory pressures. For more than 110 years, the American College of Surgeons (ACS) has supported hospitals in achieving the highest quality care and outcomes for patients undergoing surgery. The ACS has led the way in defining the quality standards and programs to address some of the most clinically challenging areas.
Today, more than 2,300 hospitals use ACS Quality Programs, applying proven strategies based on a simple three-part model—structures, processes and outcomes. Hospitals in ACS programs, regardless of size or setting, see real results—better patient outcomes, shorter lengths of stay, reduced readmission rates and lower costs. Even top performing hospitals achieve better results when using ACS Quality Programs, demonstrating that there is always room for improvement.
The Value of ACS Quality Programs – From Cancer and Trauma Care to Geriatric Surgery
The ACS may be best known for setting quality standards for trauma centers across the United States and establishing rigorous standards for cancer care through its Commission on Cancer. But the ACS has quality programs to define optimal care for children’s surgery, bariatric surgery, geriatric surgery as well as breast and rectal cancer care, among others. ACS data registries – the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program and the Trauma Quality Improvement Program – assist hospitals in collecting and using data to drive quality improvement that reduces complications and improves patient outcomes.
Improving Care for Emergency General Surgery Patients
The newest ACS Quality Program – the Emergency General Surgery Verification Program – gives hospitals the processes and tools to effectively address a problem that accounts for almost 50% of operative mortality. Emergency General Surgery includes 11 percent of all surgical procedures in the US and results in 25 percent of total inpatient costs every year. Better managing these surgeries improves outcomes, frees up hospital beds, reduces costs and improves patient satisfaction.
The Geriatric Surgery Verification Program Complies with the new CMS Age Friendly Measure
The number of Americans over 65 will more than double by 2040. This demographic currently accounts for over 40% of inpatient operations and often experiences worse outcomes due to chronic conditions, frailty, and advanced illnesses.
The ACS developed the Geriatric Surgery Verification (GSV) Program, grounded in research-based practices, to tailor the care older adults undergoing surgery receive. Addressing the specific care needs of older adults can reduce the likelihood of complications, improve outcomes and help the patients and their families achieve their care goals. For example, the GSV program helps hospitals more effectively address post-operative delirium, a common complication that can cost $20,000 per episode and lengthen hospital stays. With the GSV program, participating hospitals have decreased the length of stay by 1-3 days, based on an average 5-day stay, which in turn saves hospitals thousands of dollars and frees up bed space for more elective procedures.
In January, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) implemented a new Age Friendly Measure that now requires all hospitals participating in its Inpatient Quality Reporting program to meet certain care standards for older adult patients. The GSV program gives hospitals the tools to comply with this measure for their surgical patients. Compliance with this measure will be publicly reported beginning in 2026.
Conclusion – Patients Search for Hospitals Committed to Delivering High-Quality Care
Hospitals using ACS Quality Programs not only see an improvement in their performance, they also see an increase in patient perceptions of their institution. ACS research shows that patients who have a choice about their surgical care will choose hospitals they know are committed to following the highest quality standards. ACS-verified or -accredited hospitals are designated as Surgical Quality Partners and awarded a SQP Diamond for each program in which they participate. This designation lets patients know that the hospital adheres to the most rigorous standards of surgical quality and is committed to delivering the best possible outcomes.
As hospitals face increasingly complex demands to deliver high-quality care with constrained resources and win over patients who have a choice of where to receive care, the ACS Quality Programs provide all types of hospitals with the tools necessary to achieve both objectives.
To learn more about all of ACS Quality Programs visit www.powerofquality.com.
