Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP)
SCIP is a national partnership of organizations (including the ACS) committed to improving the safety of surgical care through the reduction of post-operative complications. Initiated by CMS and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) the SCIP partnership is a multiyear national campaign to substantially reduce surgical mortality and morbidity through collaboration efforts. The goal is to reduce nationally the incidence of surgical complications by 25 percent by the year 2010.
Difference between SCIP and ACS NSQIP?
The ACS NSQIP collects data on 133 variables, including preoperative risk factors, intra-operative variables, and 30-day postoperative mortality and morbidity outcomes for patients undergoing major surgical procedures in both the inpatient and outpatient setting. Using stepwise logistic regression, risk-adjusted 30-day morbidity and mortality outcomes are computed for each participating hospital. Outcomes are reported as observed versus expected (O/E) ratios and are distributed in the semi-annual report. It is important to note that the ACS NSQIP focuses on the systems of care at its participating sites, not the individual provider of surgical care.
While the focus of the ACS NSQIP has been the measurement of surgical outcomes, the SCIP program will focus primarily on process measures. The SCIP partnership is targeting areas where the incidence and cost of complications are high including surgical site infections, adverse cardiac events, deep vein thrombosis, and postoperative pneumonia. The program will focus on surgical process measures such as prophylactic antibiotic timing, choice and duration. It is anticipated that as SCIP expands additional relevant data will be included and will be in alignment with the ACS NSQIP dataset.
What is the connection between SCIP and ACS NSQIP?
Both the ACS NSQIP and SCIP have as their core mission the improvement of care for surgical patients. As a member of the SCIP partnership, the ACS NSQIP has developed a data collection tool to capture the SCIP process measures enabling participating sites to meet the CMS SCIP reporting requirements.
Is participation in SCIP mandatory to participate in the ACS NSQIP?
The SCIP reporting module is available free of charge to participating sites. While there is no requirement that ACS NSQIP hospitals participate in SCIP, we do encourage hospitals to participate in this national campaign to improve surgical care.
SCIP steering committee:
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO)
American College of Surgeons (ACS)
American Hospital Association (AHA)
American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI)
Department of Veterans Affairs (VHA)
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
Association of PeriOperative Registered Nurses (AORN)
Online May 23, 2011