Tennessee Surgical Quality Collaborative (TSQC)
The Tennessee Surgical Quality Collaborative (TSQC) is a unique partnership model between the Tennessee Chapter of the American College of Surgeons, Tennessee Hospital Association (THA) and BCBS Foundation using the ACS National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) to improve surgical outcomes. The program began with 10 hospitals in 2008 and grew to 23 hospitals by the first quarter of 2016. These hospitals perform over half of the general and vascular surgeries in the state.
NSQIP is a web-based quality improvement tool which originated in the VA Hospital system. The American College of Surgeons modified the program to be appropriate for the private sector. ACS NSQIP can be utilized to collect and report risk-adjusted outcomes data for surgical services.
The TSQC cumulative improvements from 2009 through CY 2014 include:
- 9,194 fewer postoperative occurrences
- 31.1% decline in mortality
- 873 fewer deaths
- 25% decline in patients with morbidity
- 2,982 fewer patients with morbidity
- 2,657 fewer cases with surgical site infections
- 980 fewer cases with sepsis
- Avoided costs of complications of $45.4 million
For more information about TSQC, contact Robert Wilmoth, MD, FACS (robert.wilmoth