|
|
|
Board of Governors Committee on Socioeconomic Issues
October 2008
Statement on the Rationale for Emergency Surgical Call Support
(by the American College of Surgeons)
Issue: Government oversight of medical care mandates that all patients are assured emergency care, regardless of a patient’s ability to pay or adequate provisions within current paradigms to provide compensation for this care. The American College of Surgeons fully supports access of all Americans to emergency care, but major issues of surgical manpower and resource utilization represent a threat to continued access. The American College of Surgeons presents the following analyses and recommendations.
Recommendations: The College believes that health care payers and institutions must commit necessary and appropriate support to surgeons for emergency coverage of surgical care. Whatever the model chosen to provide this coverage, it must account for the disruption involved with being on call when actual service may or may not be required. Reimbursement must be based on fair value for the risks involved and services provided.
Statement on Surgical Patient Safety
The American College of Surgeons regards patient safety as a priority and strongly urges individual hospitals and/or health care organizations to develop guidelines to insure optimal patient safety in the operating room. The use of a “team approach” has been shown to be highly effective. However, this approach requires the engagement of all parties involved in the surgical process. Since lack of communication and coordination of care is the most common cause of medical errors, the inculcation of team-based practice through institutional team training is desirable.
William M. Cohen, M.D., FACS
Governor at Large
South Florida Chapter-American College of Surgeons
|
|
|
|
|
|
