Trauma Systems Consultation FAQs

The Trauma Systems Consultation (TSC) Program provides policymakers, leadership, and key trauma care stakeholders with valuable insights and specific recommendations that will help overcome barriers, improve efficiency, and advance trauma system performance. The TSC Program is voluntarily performed at the request of a state, regional, or county trauma system and is valuable for trauma systems at any stage of development. The process utilizes a multidisciplinary review team with expertise that is tailored to the needs of the system. Information is collected through a Pre-Review Questionnaire and on-site plenary sessions with stakeholders. The report prepared following the consultation provides a description of the current status of the trauma system and recommendations for future trauma system development. Each system has a unique set of strengths and challenges; the consultation report highlights the strengths and provides guidance to overcome the challenges.

While an American College of Surgeons (ACS) trauma center verification visit focuses on hospital- level criteria, a trauma system consultation is broader in scope, examining the integration of trauma system components for a state-, regional-, or county-level system of care. Trauma system consultation teams provide recommendations for system improvement and enhancement.

The consultation visit takes approximately 4 days. The review team typically arrives on Sunday evening, with the stakeholder meetings occurring on Monday, and the review team exit presentation taking place on Thursday morning. A sample schedule is included in the Client Manual.

The ACS will recruit a team, based on the needs of the trauma system. The review team usually includes trauma surgeons; an emergency physician; a trauma program manager; a state, regional, or local EMS director; a specialty reviewer (selected based on trauma system); and ACS staff with content expertise. Please note that exact configuration of the review team may vary from consultation to consultation.

The fee for a standard trauma system consultation is determined upon system needs and presented after the initial intake call with the ACS team.

Examples of the funding sources states or regions have used previously to fund consultations include:

• State appropriations
• Hospital Preparedness Funding (HPP)
• Medicare Rural Hospital Flexible (Flex) Program Funding
• Foundation grants
• HRSA Block Grants
• Donations from trauma centers

Six months provides sufficient time for the requesting agency to develop and finalize the contract with the ACS, to plan and generate support for the consultation visit, and to develop the prereview questionnaire (PRQ) for the consultation visit. Consultation Program staff members are flexible and will work with requesting agencies to accommodate other timelines

• The first step in the consultation planning process is a meeting between the interested trauma system representatives (the system lead agency) and ACS staff. The purpose of this meeting is for the trauma system leaders to learn more about the consultation process and for the ACS to better understand the needs of the trauma system. The initial planning call(s) will determine: the scope of the TSC, expectations and desired outcomes, and the timeframe and location for the onsite visit. Please contact the Trauma Systems Program Team at traumasystems@facs.org to set-up an initial meeting.
• In preparation for the consultation visit, the lead agency is responsible for compiling the prereview questionnaire (PRQ) and associated documentation, preparing the meeting space for the stakeholder meetings, and inviting stakeholders.

The inclusion and participation of stakeholders from all components of the trauma system is a critical aspect of the consultation process. When identifying system stakeholders to invite, keep in mind that the team members will be seeking information about all of the Essential Trauma System Elements and how well the individual components are integrated in the overall trauma system. For a complete list of suggested stakeholders to invite, please see the “Resources” tab. Stakeholders that should be invited to participate include representatives from:

• Trauma system program
• State/regional health department
• Trauma care providers
• Emergency medical services
• State/regional communication and coordination
• Government officials
• Professional and governmental organizations

Meeting space is selected based on the geographic and logistical needs of the requesting agency and its stakeholders. The city and location for the consultation visit should be selected in discussion with the ACS Team. The requesting agency can choose to hold the stakeholder meetings at a hotel meeting space or at another venue, such as a conference room at the Department of Health. The requesting agency is responsible for the logistics and costs associated with the meeting space for the stakeholder meetings as well as group meals, if offered.

The consultation process is designed to review a trauma system at any stage of development. The review team members use the inclusive trauma system model to recommend strategies for improvement and utilization of all system resources. To address the needs of a specific system, a carefully selected multidisciplinary team is identified.

View a list of previous trauma system consultations.

The ACS Trauma Systems Consultation Program staff members provide on-going support and guidance to members of the requesting agency during all phases of consultation planning and implementation.

Although in-person participation from a broad range of system stakeholders is optimal and encouraged during the consultation process, we understand that at times, some key individuals are not available for the on-site meetings. To accommodate participants from more remote areas of the system who are unable to travel to the consultation location, the lead agency can choose to offer a virtual option for attendees. The introductory and exit presentations are generally provided virtually with the larger stakeholder meetings in person.

The requesting agency may choose to record meetings if resources are available.