This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Related article  • Similar articles in this journal  Topic Collections  • Emergency Medicine  • Quality of Care, Other  • Surgery, Other  • Prognosis/ Outcomes  • Critical Care/ Intensive Care Medicine  • Alert me on articles by topic

L. D. Britt, MD, MPH

Arch Surg. 2008;143(2):120.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

The measurement of patient outcomes should be the paramount component of any verification process. The authors' statement in the article that the trauma center verification process measures resource availability but not patient outcomes is alarmingly inaccurate.

The verification process of the ACS does, indeed, incorporate patient outcome measures. The random review or "sampling" of patient medical records to conduct a comprehensive analysis of patient outcomes (eg, unexpected deaths) has been an integral part of the verification process. The trauma center slated for review is required to provide medical records needed at the time of the visit. The specific request, which is received by the hospital 2 to 3 weeks before the site visit, includes a description of the medical records needed to conduct the site visit. The clinical outcomes are assessed by various methods.

For example, the site surveyors for the verification visit independently review . . . [Full Text of this Article]

AUTHOR INFORMATION

RELATED ARTICLE

Moving Beyond Personnel and Process: A Case for Incorporating Outcome Measures in the Trauma Center Designation Process
Shahid Shafi, Randall Friese, and Larry M. Gentilello
Arch Surg. 2008;143(2):115-119.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT