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The Uniform Medical Plan has endorsed an initiative for statewide adoption of the SCOAP Surgical Checklist. SCOAP—the Surgical Care and Outcomes Assessment Program—is a statewide collaborative effort led by surgeons to increase use of best practices in surgical care. The goal is to have this safety and quality checklist used in all Washington State operating rooms by the end of 2009. The checklist helps establish a standardized process of steps that are vital to successful procedures, and reinforces a culture of patient safety. UMP supports the SCOAP checklist, because we believe this will foster a system that delivers safer surgery.
The roll-out of the SCOAP Surgical Checklist has already started at the following pilot hospitals: Children’s Hospital & Regional Medical Center, Ocean Beach Hospital, Peace Health St. John Medical Center, Skagit Valley Hospital, Sunnyside Community Hospital, Swedish Medical Center, The Everett Clinic Kemp & Trask Surgery Centers, University of Washington Medical Center, and Virginia Mason Medical Center.
According to hospital data collected and analyzed by SCOAP, the 36 participating hospitals have already saved over $2 million by preventing unnecessary appendectomies and minimizing postoperative complications following colon surgery. While the SCOAP Surgical Checklist can be used on its own, it is more useful as part of this overall data-gathering process and integrated with hospitals’ other quality improvement initiatives.
To learn more about the checklist see the SCOAP Web site at www.scoap.org/checklist/, or contact:
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