News From the College

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) along with more than 30 other health organizations sent a letter in opposition to recently introduced legislation that would limit access to in-office services provided by physicians. The letter, sent to all members of Congress, urges opposition to H.R. 2914, the Promoting Integrity in Medicare Act, which would eliminate the in-office ancillary services exception (IOASE) to the Stark self-referral law. The IOASE allows physicians to provide certain services including advanced diagnostic imaging (MRI, PET, and CT scans), radiation therapy, anatomic pathology, and physical therapy, with certain requirements and restrictions. The ACS maintains that the U.S. health care system must ease the coordination of care to patients, especially those with complex conditions. Eliminating the IOASE would make this process more difficult. View the letter online at http://www.facs.org/ahp/medicare/index.html.

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) along with more than 30 other health organizations sent a letter in opposition to recently introduced legislation that would limit access to in-office services provided by physicians. The letter, sent to all members of Congress, urges opposition to H.R. 2914, the Promoting Integrity in Medicare Act, which would eliminate the in-office ancillary services exception (IOASE) to the Stark self-referral law. The IOASE allows physicians to provide certain services including advanced diagnostic imaging (MRI, PET, and CT scans), radiation therapy, anatomic pathology, and physical therapy, with certain requirements and restrictions. The ACS maintains that the U.S. health care system must ease the coordination of care to patients, especially those with complex conditions. Eliminating the IOASE would make this process more difficult. View the letter online at http://www.facs.org/ahp/medicare/index.html.

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) along with more than 30 other health organizations sent a letter in opposition to recently introduced legislation that would limit access to in-office services provided by physicians. The letter, sent to all members of Congress, urges opposition to H.R. 2914, the Promoting Integrity in Medicare Act, which would eliminate the in-office ancillary services exception (IOASE) to the Stark self-referral law. The IOASE allows physicians to provide certain services including advanced diagnostic imaging (MRI, PET, and CT scans), radiation therapy, anatomic pathology, and physical therapy, with certain requirements and restrictions. The ACS maintains that the U.S. health care system must ease the coordination of care to patients, especially those with complex conditions. Eliminating the IOASE would make this process more difficult. View the letter online at http://www.facs.org/ahp/medicare/index.html.

The new American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP®) Surgical Risk Calculator is a revolutionary new tool that quickly and easily estimates patient-specific postoperative complication risks for almost all operations, according to research findings that appear online in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, http://www.journalacs.org/article/S1072-7515(13)00894-6/pdf. The study will appear in a print edition of the Journal later this year.

Surgeons and patients have long sought an accurate decision-support tool to estimate patients’ risks of complications after surgical procedures. This process is essential for patient-centered care, shared decision making with patients, and true informed consent. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – through the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) – may soon provide a financial incentive for surgeons to calculate the risks of operations using the Surgical Risk Calculator and to discuss these patient-specific risks with patients before elective procedures performed in the U.S.

"Predicting postoperative risks, and identifying patients at a higher risk of complications, have traditionally been based on anecdotal experience of the individual surgeon or small studies from other institutions. Importantly, these risk estimates have been generic and not specific to an individual patient’s risk factors. To have truly informed consent and shared decision making with a patient, we need the ability to provide customized, personal risk estimates for patients undergoing any operation," according to Karl Bilimoria, MD, FACS, ACS faculty scholar, director of the Surgical Outcomes and Quality Improvement Center at Northwestern University, Chicago, and lead author of the study.

For the study, Dr. Bilimoria and colleagues used highly detailed and accurate ACS NSQIP data collected from nearly 400 hospitals and 1.4 million patients to develop a universal surgical risk calculator that covers more than 1,500 unique surgical procedures across multiple specialties. The authors leveraged outcomes data collected by ACS NSQIP to create the Surgical Risk Calculator.

"The quality and rigor of the ACS NSQIP clinical outcomes data were critical to the development and reliability of the Surgical Risk Calculator," explained study coauthor Clifford Y. Ko, MD, FACS, director of the ACS Division of Research and Optimal Patient Care.

The Surgical Risk Calculator allows surgeons to enter a total of 22 preoperative patient risk factors about their patients. Next, the risk calculator estimates the potential risks of mortality and eight important postoperative complications and displays these risks in comparison to "an average patient’s risks." The authors worked to ensure that the information would be presented in a patient-friendly way, accommodating a broad range of health literacy needs.

The authors also performed rigorous tests to ensure the validity of the risk estimates provided by the Surgical Risk Calculator. The investigators reported that the ACS NSQIP Surgical Risk Calculator yielded excellent prediction results for death, overall complication, and serious complication rates, as well as six additional postoperative complications: pneumonia, heart problem, surgical site infection, urinary tract infection, blood clot, and kidney failure. In addition, the Surgical Risk Calculator estimates a customized length of hospital stay for the patient.

However, other hard-to-measure factors may increase a patient’s risk of postoperative complications, so the web-based risk calculator includes an important novel feature: a Surgeon Adjustment Score that allows surgeons to increase the risk of an operation based on their subjective assessment of a patient. This feature enables surgeons to better counsel patients using both the modeled estimate along with the surgeon’s experience and evaluation of the patient.

The risk calculator has been released publicly and is available to surgeons, clinicians, and the public at: www.riskcalculator.facs.org. According to Dr. Bilimoria, the calculator will be enhanced regularly with additional outcomes added to the tool, as well as release of mobile versions.

In addition to Dr. Bilimoria and Dr. Ko, other participants in the study were Yaoming Liu, PhD; Jennifer Paruch, MD; Lynn Zhou, PhD; Thomas E. Kmiecik, PhD; and Mark E. Cohen, PhD. The researchers are from the Division of Research and Optimal Patient Care, American College of Surgeons (Chicago, IL); Surgical Outcomes and Quality Improvement Center, department of surgery, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University (Chicago, IL) and the department of surgery, University of California, Los Angeles and VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System. This study was supported in part by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

The new American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP®) Surgical Risk Calculator is a revolutionary new tool that quickly and easily estimates patient-specific postoperative complication risks for almost all operations, according to research findings that appear online in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, http://www.journalacs.org/article/S1072-7515(13)00894-6/pdf. The study will appear in a print edition of the Journal later this year.

Surgeons and patients have long sought an accurate decision-support tool to estimate patients’ risks of complications after surgical procedures. This process is essential for patient-centered care, shared decision making with patients, and true informed consent. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – through the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) – may soon provide a financial incentive for surgeons to calculate the risks of operations using the Surgical Risk Calculator and to discuss these patient-specific risks with patients before elective procedures performed in the U.S.

"Predicting postoperative risks, and identifying patients at a higher risk of complications, have traditionally been based on anecdotal experience of the individual surgeon or small studies from other institutions. Importantly, these risk estimates have been generic and not specific to an individual patient’s risk factors. To have truly informed consent and shared decision making with a patient, we need the ability to provide customized, personal risk estimates for patients undergoing any operation," according to Karl Bilimoria, MD, FACS, ACS faculty scholar, director of the Surgical Outcomes and Quality Improvement Center at Northwestern University, Chicago, and lead author of the study.

For the study, Dr. Bilimoria and colleagues used highly detailed and accurate ACS NSQIP data collected from nearly 400 hospitals and 1.4 million patients to develop a universal surgical risk calculator that covers more than 1,500 unique surgical procedures across multiple specialties. The authors leveraged outcomes data collected by ACS NSQIP to create the Surgical Risk Calculator.

"The quality and rigor of the ACS NSQIP clinical outcomes data were critical to the development and reliability of the Surgical Risk Calculator," explained study coauthor Clifford Y. Ko, MD, FACS, director of the ACS Division of Research and Optimal Patient Care.

The Surgical Risk Calculator allows surgeons to enter a total of 22 preoperative patient risk factors about their patients. Next, the risk calculator estimates the potential risks of mortality and eight important postoperative complications and displays these risks in comparison to "an average patient’s risks." The authors worked to ensure that the information would be presented in a patient-friendly way, accommodating a broad range of health literacy needs.

The authors also performed rigorous tests to ensure the validity of the risk estimates provided by the Surgical Risk Calculator. The investigators reported that the ACS NSQIP Surgical Risk Calculator yielded excellent prediction results for death, overall complication, and serious complication rates, as well as six additional postoperative complications: pneumonia, heart problem, surgical site infection, urinary tract infection, blood clot, and kidney failure. In addition, the Surgical Risk Calculator estimates a customized length of hospital stay for the patient.

However, other hard-to-measure factors may increase a patient’s risk of postoperative complications, so the web-based risk calculator includes an important novel feature: a Surgeon Adjustment Score that allows surgeons to increase the risk of an operation based on their subjective assessment of a patient. This feature enables surgeons to better counsel patients using both the modeled estimate along with the surgeon’s experience and evaluation of the patient.

The risk calculator has been released publicly and is available to surgeons, clinicians, and the public at: www.riskcalculator.facs.org. According to Dr. Bilimoria, the calculator will be enhanced regularly with additional outcomes added to the tool, as well as release of mobile versions.

In addition to Dr. Bilimoria and Dr. Ko, other participants in the study were Yaoming Liu, PhD; Jennifer Paruch, MD; Lynn Zhou, PhD; Thomas E. Kmiecik, PhD; and Mark E. Cohen, PhD. The researchers are from the Division of Research and Optimal Patient Care, American College of Surgeons (Chicago, IL); Surgical Outcomes and Quality Improvement Center, department of surgery, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University (Chicago, IL) and the department of surgery, University of California, Los Angeles and VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System. This study was supported in part by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

The new American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP®) Surgical Risk Calculator is a revolutionary new tool that quickly and easily estimates patient-specific postoperative complication risks for almost all operations, according to research findings that appear online in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons, http://www.journalacs.org/article/S1072-7515(13)00894-6/pdf. The study will appear in a print edition of the Journal later this year.

Surgeons and patients have long sought an accurate decision-support tool to estimate patients’ risks of complications after surgical procedures. This process is essential for patient-centered care, shared decision making with patients, and true informed consent. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services – through the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) – may soon provide a financial incentive for surgeons to calculate the risks of operations using the Surgical Risk Calculator and to discuss these patient-specific risks with patients before elective procedures performed in the U.S.

"Predicting postoperative risks, and identifying patients at a higher risk of complications, have traditionally been based on anecdotal experience of the individual surgeon or small studies from other institutions. Importantly, these risk estimates have been generic and not specific to an individual patient’s risk factors. To have truly informed consent and shared decision making with a patient, we need the ability to provide customized, personal risk estimates for patients undergoing any operation," according to Karl Bilimoria, MD, FACS, ACS faculty scholar, director of the Surgical Outcomes and Quality Improvement Center at Northwestern University, Chicago, and lead author of the study.

For the study, Dr. Bilimoria and colleagues used highly detailed and accurate ACS NSQIP data collected from nearly 400 hospitals and 1.4 million patients to develop a universal surgical risk calculator that covers more than 1,500 unique surgical procedures across multiple specialties. The authors leveraged outcomes data collected by ACS NSQIP to create the Surgical Risk Calculator.

"The quality and rigor of the ACS NSQIP clinical outcomes data were critical to the development and reliability of the Surgical Risk Calculator," explained study coauthor Clifford Y. Ko, MD, FACS, director of the ACS Division of Research and Optimal Patient Care.

The Surgical Risk Calculator allows surgeons to enter a total of 22 preoperative patient risk factors about their patients. Next, the risk calculator estimates the potential risks of mortality and eight important postoperative complications and displays these risks in comparison to "an average patient’s risks." The authors worked to ensure that the information would be presented in a patient-friendly way, accommodating a broad range of health literacy needs.

The authors also performed rigorous tests to ensure the validity of the risk estimates provided by the Surgical Risk Calculator. The investigators reported that the ACS NSQIP Surgical Risk Calculator yielded excellent prediction results for death, overall complication, and serious complication rates, as well as six additional postoperative complications: pneumonia, heart problem, surgical site infection, urinary tract infection, blood clot, and kidney failure. In addition, the Surgical Risk Calculator estimates a customized length of hospital stay for the patient.

However, other hard-to-measure factors may increase a patient’s risk of postoperative complications, so the web-based risk calculator includes an important novel feature: a Surgeon Adjustment Score that allows surgeons to increase the risk of an operation based on their subjective assessment of a patient. This feature enables surgeons to better counsel patients using both the modeled estimate along with the surgeon’s experience and evaluation of the patient.

The risk calculator has been released publicly and is available to surgeons, clinicians, and the public at: www.riskcalculator.facs.org. According to Dr. Bilimoria, the calculator will be enhanced regularly with additional outcomes added to the tool, as well as release of mobile versions.

In addition to Dr. Bilimoria and Dr. Ko, other participants in the study were Yaoming Liu, PhD; Jennifer Paruch, MD; Lynn Zhou, PhD; Thomas E. Kmiecik, PhD; and Mark E. Cohen, PhD. The researchers are from the Division of Research and Optimal Patient Care, American College of Surgeons (Chicago, IL); Surgical Outcomes and Quality Improvement Center, department of surgery, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University (Chicago, IL) and the department of surgery, University of California, Los Angeles and VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System. This study was supported in part by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Didactic and Skills-Oriented Postgraduate and Skills-Oriented Courses with a designated II and III verification level will be offered at the American College of Surgeons (ACS) 2013 Clinical Congress, October 6-10, in Washington, DC. These courses offer a self-assessment component toward Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Part 2.

The American Board of Surgery requires that at least 60 of the 90 Category I CME hours completed in a three-year MOC cycle include self-assessment activity. All requirements of these Postgraduate Courses must be completed to receive AMA PRA Category 1 Credits(tm) and hours toward self assessment. Find course requirements on the Verification Level chart found with the listing of Postgraduate and Skills-Oriented Courses on the 2013 Clinical Congress website at http://www.facs.org/clincon2013/scientific/postgraduate.html.

Sign up for one of the following courses, complete the requirements, and receive your self-assessment hours:

PG16: Endocrine Surgery Review Course

PG21: General Surgery Review Course

PG25: MOC Review: Essentials for Surgical Specialties

PG26: Update in Surgical Critical Care

PG28: Review of the Essentials of Vascular Surgery

SC04: Flexible Endoscopy for General Surgeons

SC06: FAST Ultrasound

SC07: Thyroid and Parathyroid Ultrasound

SC08: Interoperative Decisions in Laparoscopic Inguinal and Ventral Hernia Repair

SC10: Measure Twice, Cut Once! Optimizing Surgical Systems of Care

SC12: Practical Applications of Ultrasound in the ICU: ECHO and Thoracic

SC14: Rural Surgery

Verification of completion of Postgraduate and Skills-Oriented Courses will be posted on ACS members’ My CME Transcript, and certificates will be sent via e-mail to nonmembers within six to eight weeks after Clinical Congress.

To register for Clinical Congress, go to the ACS website at http://www.facs.org/clincon2013/registration/index.html.

Didactic and Skills-Oriented Postgraduate and Skills-Oriented Courses with a designated II and III verification level will be offered at the American College of Surgeons (ACS) 2013 Clinical Congress, October 6-10, in Washington, DC. These courses offer a self-assessment component toward Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Part 2.

The American Board of Surgery requires that at least 60 of the 90 Category I CME hours completed in a three-year MOC cycle include self-assessment activity. All requirements of these Postgraduate Courses must be completed to receive AMA PRA Category 1 Credits(tm) and hours toward self assessment. Find course requirements on the Verification Level chart found with the listing of Postgraduate and Skills-Oriented Courses on the 2013 Clinical Congress website at http://www.facs.org/clincon2013/scientific/postgraduate.html.

Sign up for one of the following courses, complete the requirements, and receive your self-assessment hours:

PG16: Endocrine Surgery Review Course

PG21: General Surgery Review Course

PG25: MOC Review: Essentials for Surgical Specialties

PG26: Update in Surgical Critical Care

PG28: Review of the Essentials of Vascular Surgery

SC04: Flexible Endoscopy for General Surgeons

SC06: FAST Ultrasound

SC07: Thyroid and Parathyroid Ultrasound

SC08: Interoperative Decisions in Laparoscopic Inguinal and Ventral Hernia Repair

SC10: Measure Twice, Cut Once! Optimizing Surgical Systems of Care

SC12: Practical Applications of Ultrasound in the ICU: ECHO and Thoracic

SC14: Rural Surgery

Verification of completion of Postgraduate and Skills-Oriented Courses will be posted on ACS members’ My CME Transcript, and certificates will be sent via e-mail to nonmembers within six to eight weeks after Clinical Congress.

To register for Clinical Congress, go to the ACS website at http://www.facs.org/clincon2013/registration/index.html.

Didactic and Skills-Oriented Postgraduate and Skills-Oriented Courses with a designated II and III verification level will be offered at the American College of Surgeons (ACS) 2013 Clinical Congress, October 6-10, in Washington, DC. These courses offer a self-assessment component toward Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Part 2.

The American Board of Surgery requires that at least 60 of the 90 Category I CME hours completed in a three-year MOC cycle include self-assessment activity. All requirements of these Postgraduate Courses must be completed to receive AMA PRA Category 1 Credits(tm) and hours toward self assessment. Find course requirements on the Verification Level chart found with the listing of Postgraduate and Skills-Oriented Courses on the 2013 Clinical Congress website at http://www.facs.org/clincon2013/scientific/postgraduate.html.

Sign up for one of the following courses, complete the requirements, and receive your self-assessment hours:

PG16: Endocrine Surgery Review Course

PG21: General Surgery Review Course

PG25: MOC Review: Essentials for Surgical Specialties

PG26: Update in Surgical Critical Care

PG28: Review of the Essentials of Vascular Surgery

SC04: Flexible Endoscopy for General Surgeons

SC06: FAST Ultrasound

SC07: Thyroid and Parathyroid Ultrasound

SC08: Interoperative Decisions in Laparoscopic Inguinal and Ventral Hernia Repair

SC10: Measure Twice, Cut Once! Optimizing Surgical Systems of Care

SC12: Practical Applications of Ultrasound in the ICU: ECHO and Thoracic

SC14: Rural Surgery

Verification of completion of Postgraduate and Skills-Oriented Courses will be posted on ACS members’ My CME Transcript, and certificates will be sent via e-mail to nonmembers within six to eight weeks after Clinical Congress.

To register for Clinical Congress, go to the ACS website at http://www.facs.org/clincon2013/registration/index.html.

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the Commission on Cancer (CoC) have joined more than 30 leading medical specialty societies in phase III of the Choosing Wisely ^® campaign initiated by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Foundation. The campaign is a response to a 2012 report from the Institute of Medicine, Best Care at Lower Cost, which noted that up to 30 percent of health care spending is duplicative or unnecessary. To date, the campaign has brought together more than 80 organizations, including medical societies, regional health collaboratives, and consumer partners to support important physician-patient conversations about using the most appropriate tests and treatments, and avoiding care if its harm outweighs the benefits.

To spark these conversations, leading specialty societies have created lists of evidence-based recommendations that should be discussed to help physicians and patients make wise decisions about the most appropriate care based on a patient’s individual situation.

Choosing Wisely currently has put forth a list of more than 130 potentially unnecessary medical tests and will add to that number in late 2013 and early 2014 with the lists submitted by phase III participating groups. The ACS and the CoC have recently developed evidence-based lists of five tests/and or procedures that may be overused in their specific fields. The ACS and CoC lists will be released concurrently on the ACS and Choosing Wisely websites on September 4. For more information, visit: choosingwisely.org.

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the Commission on Cancer (CoC) have joined more than 30 leading medical specialty societies in phase III of the Choosing Wisely ^® campaign initiated by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Foundation. The campaign is a response to a 2012 report from the Institute of Medicine, Best Care at Lower Cost, which noted that up to 30 percent of health care spending is duplicative or unnecessary. To date, the campaign has brought together more than 80 organizations, including medical societies, regional health collaboratives, and consumer partners to support important physician-patient conversations about using the most appropriate tests and treatments, and avoiding care if its harm outweighs the benefits.

To spark these conversations, leading specialty societies have created lists of evidence-based recommendations that should be discussed to help physicians and patients make wise decisions about the most appropriate care based on a patient’s individual situation.

Choosing Wisely currently has put forth a list of more than 130 potentially unnecessary medical tests and will add to that number in late 2013 and early 2014 with the lists submitted by phase III participating groups. The ACS and the CoC have recently developed evidence-based lists of five tests/and or procedures that may be overused in their specific fields. The ACS and CoC lists will be released concurrently on the ACS and Choosing Wisely websites on September 4. For more information, visit: choosingwisely.org.

The American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the Commission on Cancer (CoC) have joined more than 30 leading medical specialty societies in phase III of the Choosing Wisely ^® campaign initiated by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Foundation. The campaign is a response to a 2012 report from the Institute of Medicine, Best Care at Lower Cost, which noted that up to 30 percent of health care spending is duplicative or unnecessary. To date, the campaign has brought together more than 80 organizations, including medical societies, regional health collaboratives, and consumer partners to support important physician-patient conversations about using the most appropriate tests and treatments, and avoiding care if its harm outweighs the benefits.

To spark these conversations, leading specialty societies have created lists of evidence-based recommendations that should be discussed to help physicians and patients make wise decisions about the most appropriate care based on a patient’s individual situation.

Choosing Wisely currently has put forth a list of more than 130 potentially unnecessary medical tests and will add to that number in late 2013 and early 2014 with the lists submitted by phase III participating groups. The ACS and the CoC have recently developed evidence-based lists of five tests/and or procedures that may be overused in their specific fields. The ACS and CoC lists will be released concurrently on the ACS and Choosing Wisely websites on September 4. For more information, visit: choosingwisely.org.

Best Care at Lower Cost is the Institute of Medicine’s most comprehensive look at the nation’s health care issues and challenges since the Quality Chasm series of a dozen years ago. In this report, the IOM not only updates insights on the quality of care, but also chronicles and underscores the challenges of health care’s growing complexity, cost, and waste, identifying some $750 billion in unnecessary expenditures annually and reviewing the opportunities for continuous learning and improvement. Achieving higher quality care at lower cost will require an across-the-board commitment to transform the U.S. health care system into a "\"learning" system that continuously improves by systematically capturing and broadly disseminating lessons from every care experience and new research discovery. With practical reference to proven approaches, the committee’s recommendations speak to the many stakeholders in the health care system and outline the concerted actions necessary across all sectors to achieve the needed transformation. Acting on the insights in this volume will improve care quality, the patient experience, health care outcomes, and lower costs. For more information on Best Care at Lower Cost, go to the IOM’s website at http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2012/Best-Care-at-Lower-Cost-The-Path-to-Continuously-Learning-Health-Care-in-America.aspx, or view the Clinicians-focused brief at http://iom.edu/~/media/Files/Report%20Files/2012/Best-Care/Sector-Briefs/LearningHealthFactClinicians.pdf.

Best Care at Lower Cost is the Institute of Medicine’s most comprehensive look at the nation’s health care issues and challenges since the Quality Chasm series of a dozen years ago. In this report, the IOM not only updates insights on the quality of care, but also chronicles and underscores the challenges of health care’s growing complexity, cost, and waste, identifying some $750 billion in unnecessary expenditures annually and reviewing the opportunities for continuous learning and improvement. Achieving higher quality care at lower cost will require an across-the-board commitment to transform the U.S. health care system into a "\"learning" system that continuously improves by systematically capturing and broadly disseminating lessons from every care experience and new research discovery. With practical reference to proven approaches, the committee’s recommendations speak to the many stakeholders in the health care system and outline the concerted actions necessary across all sectors to achieve the needed transformation. Acting on the insights in this volume will improve care quality, the patient experience, health care outcomes, and lower costs. For more information on Best Care at Lower Cost, go to the IOM’s website at http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2012/Best-Care-at-Lower-Cost-The-Path-to-Continuously-Learning-Health-Care-in-America.aspx, or view the Clinicians-focused brief at http://iom.edu/~/media/Files/Report%20Files/2012/Best-Care/Sector-Briefs/LearningHealthFactClinicians.pdf.

Best Care at Lower Cost is the Institute of Medicine’s most comprehensive look at the nation’s health care issues and challenges since the Quality Chasm series of a dozen years ago. In this report, the IOM not only updates insights on the quality of care, but also chronicles and underscores the challenges of health care’s growing complexity, cost, and waste, identifying some $750 billion in unnecessary expenditures annually and reviewing the opportunities for continuous learning and improvement. Achieving higher quality care at lower cost will require an across-the-board commitment to transform the U.S. health care system into a "\"learning" system that continuously improves by systematically capturing and broadly disseminating lessons from every care experience and new research discovery. With practical reference to proven approaches, the committee’s recommendations speak to the many stakeholders in the health care system and outline the concerted actions necessary across all sectors to achieve the needed transformation. Acting on the insights in this volume will improve care quality, the patient experience, health care outcomes, and lower costs. For more information on Best Care at Lower Cost, go to the IOM’s website at http://www.iom.edu/Reports/2012/Best-Care-at-Lower-Cost-The-Path-to-Continuously-Learning-Health-Care-in-America.aspx, or view the Clinicians-focused brief at http://iom.edu/~/media/Files/Report%20Files/2012/Best-Care/Sector-Briefs/LearningHealthFactClinicians.pdf.

The second installment of the Recovery Room podcast, covering the topics of sun exposure and skin cancer, is now available on the American College of Surgeons (ACS) website. In this episode, host Frederick L. Greene, MD, FACS, Charlotte, NC, calls on experts Briana Heniford, MD, and Jeffrey Gershenwald, MD, FACS, to address misconceptions about these subjects. Dr. Heniford is an otolaryngologist and plastic surgeon, Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte, NC, and Dr. Gershenwald is an attending surgeon and professor, department of surgical oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston.

The episode covers commonly asked consumer questions, including the difference between sunscreen and sunblock, what sun protection factor (SPF) numbers mean, and the meaning of "broad spectrum" sunscreen.

The Recovery Room features interviews with medical and public health experts and covers developments in research, treatment, policy changes, and ethical debates. Listen to this and the first episode on the ACS website at http://www.facs.org/recoveryroom/.

The second installment of the Recovery Room podcast, covering the topics of sun exposure and skin cancer, is now available on the American College of Surgeons (ACS) website. In this episode, host Frederick L. Greene, MD, FACS, Charlotte, NC, calls on experts Briana Heniford, MD, and Jeffrey Gershenwald, MD, FACS, to address misconceptions about these subjects. Dr. Heniford is an otolaryngologist and plastic surgeon, Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte, NC, and Dr. Gershenwald is an attending surgeon and professor, department of surgical oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston.

The episode covers commonly asked consumer questions, including the difference between sunscreen and sunblock, what sun protection factor (SPF) numbers mean, and the meaning of "broad spectrum" sunscreen.

The Recovery Room features interviews with medical and public health experts and covers developments in research, treatment, policy changes, and ethical debates. Listen to this and the first episode on the ACS website at http://www.facs.org/recoveryroom/.

The second installment of the Recovery Room podcast, covering the topics of sun exposure and skin cancer, is now available on the American College of Surgeons (ACS) website. In this episode, host Frederick L. Greene, MD, FACS, Charlotte, NC, calls on experts Briana Heniford, MD, and Jeffrey Gershenwald, MD, FACS, to address misconceptions about these subjects. Dr. Heniford is an otolaryngologist and plastic surgeon, Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte, NC, and Dr. Gershenwald is an attending surgeon and professor, department of surgical oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston.

The episode covers commonly asked consumer questions, including the difference between sunscreen and sunblock, what sun protection factor (SPF) numbers mean, and the meaning of "broad spectrum" sunscreen.

The Recovery Room features interviews with medical and public health experts and covers developments in research, treatment, policy changes, and ethical debates. Listen to this and the first episode on the ACS website at http://www.facs.org/recoveryroom/.

The 2013 American College of Surgeons (ACS) Annual Clinical Congress will feature Town Hall Meetings, which provide a forum for informal discussions of issues relevant to ACS members.

Town Hall Meetings do not qualify for continuing medical education credit. Clinical Congress registration is required to attend the Town Hall Meetings. To register for the 2013 Clinical Congress, visit http://www.facs.org/clincon2013/index.html. Town Hall Meetings scheduled at press time are as follows:

Tuesday, October 8, 7:00–7:45 am

TH01: Who Will Be Available to Take General Surgical Calls in 2015?

TH02: What Are the Current Issues in Board Certification and Maintenance of Certification (MOC)?

TH03: Surgeons as Health Policy Advocates

TH10: Introspection: The New Surgical Time Out

Wednesday, October 9, 7:00–7:45 am

TH04: Robotic Surgery: Does It Fit in Your General Surgical Practice?

TH05: Rural Surgery: What Are the Challenges?

TH06: Medical Liability Reform 2013: Thinking Outside of the Box to Achieve Tort Reform

TH11: Transition to Independent Practice: New ACS Program for General Surgeons

Thursday, October 10, 7:00–7:45 am

TH07: ACS-CRP: Defining Cancer Surgical Guidelines and Reporting

TH08: Choosing a Surgical Discipline

TH09: Ethics in Advertising: What Is the Surgeon’s Responsibility?

TH12: The ACS Practice Guidelines Project

TH13: Surgeon-Specific Registry and Maintenance of Certification: What Does It Mean for the Practicing Surgeon?

The 2013 American College of Surgeons (ACS) Annual Clinical Congress will feature Town Hall Meetings, which provide a forum for informal discussions of issues relevant to ACS members.

Town Hall Meetings do not qualify for continuing medical education credit. Clinical Congress registration is required to attend the Town Hall Meetings. To register for the 2013 Clinical Congress, visit http://www.facs.org/clincon2013/index.html. Town Hall Meetings scheduled at press time are as follows:

Tuesday, October 8, 7:00–7:45 am

TH01: Who Will Be Available to Take General Surgical Calls in 2015?

TH02: What Are the Current Issues in Board Certification and Maintenance of Certification (MOC)?

TH03: Surgeons as Health Policy Advocates

TH10: Introspection: The New Surgical Time Out

Wednesday, October 9, 7:00–7:45 am

TH04: Robotic Surgery: Does It Fit in Your General Surgical Practice?

TH05: Rural Surgery: What Are the Challenges?

TH06: Medical Liability Reform 2013: Thinking Outside of the Box to Achieve Tort Reform

TH11: Transition to Independent Practice: New ACS Program for General Surgeons

Thursday, October 10, 7:00–7:45 am

TH07: ACS-CRP: Defining Cancer Surgical Guidelines and Reporting

TH08: Choosing a Surgical Discipline

TH09: Ethics in Advertising: What Is the Surgeon’s Responsibility?

TH12: The ACS Practice Guidelines Project

TH13: Surgeon-Specific Registry and Maintenance of Certification: What Does It Mean for the Practicing Surgeon?

The 2013 American College of Surgeons (ACS) Annual Clinical Congress will feature Town Hall Meetings, which provide a forum for informal discussions of issues relevant to ACS members.

Town Hall Meetings do not qualify for continuing medical education credit. Clinical Congress registration is required to attend the Town Hall Meetings. To register for the 2013 Clinical Congress, visit http://www.facs.org/clincon2013/index.html. Town Hall Meetings scheduled at press time are as follows:

Tuesday, October 8, 7:00–7:45 am

TH01: Who Will Be Available to Take General Surgical Calls in 2015?

TH02: What Are the Current Issues in Board Certification and Maintenance of Certification (MOC)?

TH03: Surgeons as Health Policy Advocates

TH10: Introspection: The New Surgical Time Out

Wednesday, October 9, 7:00–7:45 am

TH04: Robotic Surgery: Does It Fit in Your General Surgical Practice?

TH05: Rural Surgery: What Are the Challenges?

TH06: Medical Liability Reform 2013: Thinking Outside of the Box to Achieve Tort Reform

TH11: Transition to Independent Practice: New ACS Program for General Surgeons

Thursday, October 10, 7:00–7:45 am

TH07: ACS-CRP: Defining Cancer Surgical Guidelines and Reporting

TH08: Choosing a Surgical Discipline

TH09: Ethics in Advertising: What Is the Surgeon’s Responsibility?

TH12: The ACS Practice Guidelines Project

TH13: Surgeon-Specific Registry and Maintenance of Certification: What Does It Mean for the Practicing Surgeon?

The popular Meet-the-Expert Luncheons will take place Monday, October 7, through Wednesday, October 9, during the 2013 Clinical Congress in Washington, DC. The fee per luncheon is $45, which includes a boxed lunch and the opportunity to informally discuss a focused topic with an expert in the field. It is certainly possible to attend a different luncheon each day. Advance registration is required and tickets are limited.

Luncheon titles include Burning Issues in Surgical Ethics: Collaborations with Industry and Potential Conflicts of Interest; Non-Operative Management of Solid Organ Injuries; Anal Neoplasia; How to Mentor a Newly Trained Partner; Developing a Robotic Surgery Program in Urology; Pediatric Urologic Surgery; Radiological Workup and the Breast; How to Create Your Own Bundled Payment for Surgical Reimbursement; and The Role of Surgeons in Reducing Never Events. Attend luncheons prepared to discuss your surgical cases. For more information, contact Gay Lynn Dykman at [email protected].

To register, go to www.facs.org/clincon2013/registration/index.html.

The popular Meet-the-Expert Luncheons will take place Monday, October 7, through Wednesday, October 9, during the 2013 Clinical Congress in Washington, DC. The fee per luncheon is $45, which includes a boxed lunch and the opportunity to informally discuss a focused topic with an expert in the field. It is certainly possible to attend a different luncheon each day. Advance registration is required and tickets are limited.

Luncheon titles include Burning Issues in Surgical Ethics: Collaborations with Industry and Potential Conflicts of Interest; Non-Operative Management of Solid Organ Injuries; Anal Neoplasia; How to Mentor a Newly Trained Partner; Developing a Robotic Surgery Program in Urology; Pediatric Urologic Surgery; Radiological Workup and the Breast; How to Create Your Own Bundled Payment for Surgical Reimbursement; and The Role of Surgeons in Reducing Never Events. Attend luncheons prepared to discuss your surgical cases. For more information, contact Gay Lynn Dykman at [email protected].

To register, go to www.facs.org/clincon2013/registration/index.html.

The popular Meet-the-Expert Luncheons will take place Monday, October 7, through Wednesday, October 9, during the 2013 Clinical Congress in Washington, DC. The fee per luncheon is $45, which includes a boxed lunch and the opportunity to informally discuss a focused topic with an expert in the field. It is certainly possible to attend a different luncheon each day. Advance registration is required and tickets are limited.

Luncheon titles include Burning Issues in Surgical Ethics: Collaborations with Industry and Potential Conflicts of Interest; Non-Operative Management of Solid Organ Injuries; Anal Neoplasia; How to Mentor a Newly Trained Partner; Developing a Robotic Surgery Program in Urology; Pediatric Urologic Surgery; Radiological Workup and the Breast; How to Create Your Own Bundled Payment for Surgical Reimbursement; and The Role of Surgeons in Reducing Never Events. Attend luncheons prepared to discuss your surgical cases. For more information, contact Gay Lynn Dykman at [email protected].

To register, go to www.facs.org/clincon2013/registration/index.html.

This year’s American College of Surgeons (ACS) Clinical Congress, October 6–10, in Washington, DC, will include new Skills-Oriented and Didactic Postgraduate Courses and Panel Sessions on patient safety and casualty preparation and response.

Patient safety

Attendees may receive continuing medical education credit in patient safety for attending multiple courses and sessions, including:

PS100: Acute Cholecystitis: What to Do When the Patient Is Too Sick?

PS107: Complicated Diverticulitis: To Resect or Not?

PS121: Bleeding Ulcer: Endoscopy Suite, Interventional Radiology, or Operating Room?

PS200: Severe Acute Pancreatitis: Evolving Management Strategies

PS208: A Wild Night on Acute Care Surgery Call: Challenging Cases, Great Lessons

PS215: Acute Appendicitis: Operate Now, Wait until the Morning, or Treat with Antibiotics? Review of the Evidence

PS222: Managing Emergencies in Crohn’s Disease

PS229: Intestinal Stomas: Prevention and Management of Complications

PS301: Colorectal Emergencies for Noncolorectal Surgeons

PS306: Anastomotic Leak: Prevention and Management

PS312: Bariatric Surgical Complications: I Don’t Do Bariatric Surgery—But You Are the Only Surgeon on Call!

PS319: Quality Colorectal Cancer Care: What You Should Know

PS325: Help! I Can’t Close the Abdomen: Now What?

PS400: Ten Hot Topics in General Surgery

SC01: Humanitarian Surgery: Surgical Skills Training for the International Volunteer Surgeon

SC02: Bedside Procedures in the Surgical ICU: What, Why, and How

SC10: Measure Twice, Cut Once! Optimizing Surgical Systems of Care

SC13: Emergency Airways

SC14: Advanced Skills Training for Rural Surgeons: Laparoscopic Common Bile Duct Exploration and Anesthesia in Rural Practice

PG22: Robotic Surgery for Gastrointestinal Operations: Program Planning, Approaches, and Applications

PG27: Non-Technical Skills for Surgeons in the Operating Room: Behaviors in High-Performing Teams

Attendance at Postgraduate Didactic and Skills-Oriented courses requires additional enrollment to the standard Clinical Congress registration.

Mass-casualty preparation and response

Two new Panel Sessions at the 2013 ACS Clinical Congress will explore proper emergency responses that boost the possibility of human survival during mass-casualty events. Panel speakers at these sessions will share firsthand experiences and provide lessons learned, in addition to practical strategies on how to coordinate with federal and local agencies when responding to crisis situations.

PS331: Lessons Learned from the Boston Marathon Bombing

Wednesday, October 9, 8:00–9:30 am

Moderator: Michael J. Zinner, MD, FACS, ACS Regent

Co-Moderator: Michael F. Rotondo, MD, FACS, Chair, ACS Committee on Trauma

Participants will discuss the lessons learned from the April 15 Boston Marathon bombing, a civilian mass-casualty event.

The exercises that preceded the event and the ACS Committee on Trauma’s certification of five adult and one pediatric Level 1 trauma centers in Boston helped save the lives of all the victims who were transported to hospitals.

PS310: Mass-Casualty Shootings: Saving the Patients

Wednesday, October 9, 9:45–11:15 am

Moderator: Lenworth M. Jacobs, MD, FACS, ACS Regent

Co-Moderator: Michael F. Rotondo, MD, FACS, Chair, ACS Committee on Trauma

The ACS has partnered with numerous organizations, including the FBI, local police and fire departments, and emergency prehospital management, to prepare a document that will encourage cooperation among all agencies involved in managing mass-casualty events. A panel of representatives from these groups will provide practical strategies for attendees to apply in their communities.

Admission to Panel Sessions is included with each paid Clinical Congress registration. For more information on the scientific sessions at the ACS 2013 Clinical Congress and to register, view the ACS Clinical Congress Web page at http://www.facs.org/clincon2013/.

This year’s American College of Surgeons (ACS) Clinical Congress, October 6–10, in Washington, DC, will include new Skills-Oriented and Didactic Postgraduate Courses and Panel Sessions on patient safety and casualty preparation and response.

Patient safety

Attendees may receive continuing medical education credit in patient safety for attending multiple courses and sessions, including:

PS100: Acute Cholecystitis: What to Do When the Patient Is Too Sick?

PS107: Complicated Diverticulitis: To Resect or Not?

PS121: Bleeding Ulcer: Endoscopy Suite, Interventional Radiology, or Operating Room?

PS200: Severe Acute Pancreatitis: Evolving Management Strategies

PS208: A Wild Night on Acute Care Surgery Call: Challenging Cases, Great Lessons

PS215: Acute Appendicitis: Operate Now, Wait until the Morning, or Treat with Antibiotics? Review of the Evidence

PS222: Managing Emergencies in Crohn’s Disease

PS229: Intestinal Stomas: Prevention and Management of Complications

PS301: Colorectal Emergencies for Noncolorectal Surgeons

PS306: Anastomotic Leak: Prevention and Management

PS312: Bariatric Surgical Complications: I Don’t Do Bariatric Surgery—But You Are the Only Surgeon on Call!

PS319: Quality Colorectal Cancer Care: What You Should Know

PS325: Help! I Can’t Close the Abdomen: Now What?

PS400: Ten Hot Topics in General Surgery

SC01: Humanitarian Surgery: Surgical Skills Training for the International Volunteer Surgeon

SC02: Bedside Procedures in the Surgical ICU: What, Why, and How

SC10: Measure Twice, Cut Once! Optimizing Surgical Systems of Care

SC13: Emergency Airways

SC14: Advanced Skills Training for Rural Surgeons: Laparoscopic Common Bile Duct Exploration and Anesthesia in Rural Practice

PG22: Robotic Surgery for Gastrointestinal Operations: Program Planning, Approaches, and Applications

PG27: Non-Technical Skills for Surgeons in the Operating Room: Behaviors in High-Performing Teams

Attendance at Postgraduate Didactic and Skills-Oriented courses requires additional enrollment to the standard Clinical Congress registration.

Mass-casualty preparation and response

Two new Panel Sessions at the 2013 ACS Clinical Congress will explore proper emergency responses that boost the possibility of human survival during mass-casualty events. Panel speakers at these sessions will share firsthand experiences and provide lessons learned, in addition to practical strategies on how to coordinate with federal and local agencies when responding to crisis situations.

PS331: Lessons Learned from the Boston Marathon Bombing

Wednesday, October 9, 8:00–9:30 am

Moderator: Michael J. Zinner, MD, FACS, ACS Regent

Co-Moderator: Michael F. Rotondo, MD, FACS, Chair, ACS Committee on Trauma

Participants will discuss the lessons learned from the April 15 Boston Marathon bombing, a civilian mass-casualty event.

The exercises that preceded the event and the ACS Committee on Trauma’s certification of five adult and one pediatric Level 1 trauma centers in Boston helped save the lives of all the victims who were transported to hospitals.

PS310: Mass-Casualty Shootings: Saving the Patients

Wednesday, October 9, 9:45–11:15 am

Moderator: Lenworth M. Jacobs, MD, FACS, ACS Regent

Co-Moderator: Michael F. Rotondo, MD, FACS, Chair, ACS Committee on Trauma

The ACS has partnered with numerous organizations, including the FBI, local police and fire departments, and emergency prehospital management, to prepare a document that will encourage cooperation among all agencies involved in managing mass-casualty events. A panel of representatives from these groups will provide practical strategies for attendees to apply in their communities.

Admission to Panel Sessions is included with each paid Clinical Congress registration. For more information on the scientific sessions at the ACS 2013 Clinical Congress and to register, view the ACS Clinical Congress Web page at http://www.facs.org/clincon2013/.

This year’s American College of Surgeons (ACS) Clinical Congress, October 6–10, in Washington, DC, will include new Skills-Oriented and Didactic Postgraduate Courses and Panel Sessions on patient safety and casualty preparation and response.

Patient safety

Attendees may receive continuing medical education credit in patient safety for attending multiple courses and sessions, including:

PS100: Acute Cholecystitis: What to Do When the Patient Is Too Sick?

PS107: Complicated Diverticulitis: To Resect or Not?

PS121: Bleeding Ulcer: Endoscopy Suite, Interventional Radiology, or Operating Room?

PS200: Severe Acute Pancreatitis: Evolving Management Strategies

PS208: A Wild Night on Acute Care Surgery Call: Challenging Cases, Great Lessons

PS215: Acute Appendicitis: Operate Now, Wait until the Morning, or Treat with Antibiotics? Review of the Evidence

PS222: Managing Emergencies in Crohn’s Disease

PS229: Intestinal Stomas: Prevention and Management of Complications

PS301: Colorectal Emergencies for Noncolorectal Surgeons

PS306: Anastomotic Leak: Prevention and Management

PS312: Bariatric Surgical Complications: I Don’t Do Bariatric Surgery—But You Are the Only Surgeon on Call!

PS319: Quality Colorectal Cancer Care: What You Should Know

PS325: Help! I Can’t Close the Abdomen: Now What?

PS400: Ten Hot Topics in General Surgery

SC01: Humanitarian Surgery: Surgical Skills Training for the International Volunteer Surgeon

SC02: Bedside Procedures in the Surgical ICU: What, Why, and How

SC10: Measure Twice, Cut Once! Optimizing Surgical Systems of Care

SC13: Emergency Airways

SC14: Advanced Skills Training for Rural Surgeons: Laparoscopic Common Bile Duct Exploration and Anesthesia in Rural Practice

PG22: Robotic Surgery for Gastrointestinal Operations: Program Planning, Approaches, and Applications

PG27: Non-Technical Skills for Surgeons in the Operating Room: Behaviors in High-Performing Teams

Attendance at Postgraduate Didactic and Skills-Oriented courses requires additional enrollment to the standard Clinical Congress registration.

Mass-casualty preparation and response

Two new Panel Sessions at the 2013 ACS Clinical Congress will explore proper emergency responses that boost the possibility of human survival during mass-casualty events. Panel speakers at these sessions will share firsthand experiences and provide lessons learned, in addition to practical strategies on how to coordinate with federal and local agencies when responding to crisis situations.

PS331: Lessons Learned from the Boston Marathon Bombing

Wednesday, October 9, 8:00–9:30 am

Moderator: Michael J. Zinner, MD, FACS, ACS Regent

Co-Moderator: Michael F. Rotondo, MD, FACS, Chair, ACS Committee on Trauma

Participants will discuss the lessons learned from the April 15 Boston Marathon bombing, a civilian mass-casualty event.

The exercises that preceded the event and the ACS Committee on Trauma’s certification of five adult and one pediatric Level 1 trauma centers in Boston helped save the lives of all the victims who were transported to hospitals.

PS310: Mass-Casualty Shootings: Saving the Patients

Wednesday, October 9, 9:45–11:15 am

Moderator: Lenworth M. Jacobs, MD, FACS, ACS Regent

Co-Moderator: Michael F. Rotondo, MD, FACS, Chair, ACS Committee on Trauma

The ACS has partnered with numerous organizations, including the FBI, local police and fire departments, and emergency prehospital management, to prepare a document that will encourage cooperation among all agencies involved in managing mass-casualty events. A panel of representatives from these groups will provide practical strategies for attendees to apply in their communities.

Admission to Panel Sessions is included with each paid Clinical Congress registration. For more information on the scientific sessions at the ACS 2013 Clinical Congress and to register, view the ACS Clinical Congress Web page at http://www.facs.org/clincon2013/.

Fellows and friends of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) have the opportunity throughout the ACS Centennial year to support the ACS Foundation and help guarantee a vital future for surgical quality and lifelong learning. The 1913 Legacy Campaign, which began in April of this year, is raising transformative gifts for the College’s second century. Philanthropic investments within three priority campaign initiatives will benefit the Surgeon, the Profession, and the Societal Good and will help shape the ACS during the next 100 years. These pillars of investment will sustain meritorious programs and support newly established initiatives:

The Surgeon

Investments in the development of innovative programs to advance simulation-based surgical education and training as well as funding to better engage and embrace international surgeons.

The Profession

Promoting best practices and quality improvements through the newly established Codman Quality and Safety Fund and programs for rural surgery and surgical ethics. The fund is named in honor of Ernest A. Codman, MD, FACS, a key figure in the founding of the College who advocated for the "End Result Idea" – the premise that hospital staff should follow every patient long enough to determine whether the treatment was successful and then learn from failures.

The Societal Good

New funding opportunities for patient education programs and support for surgical volunteerism.

Details will be announced at the 2013 Clinical Congress. For more information, contact Sarah Klein at [email protected].

Fellows and friends of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) have the opportunity throughout the ACS Centennial year to support the ACS Foundation and help guarantee a vital future for surgical quality and lifelong learning. The 1913 Legacy Campaign, which began in April of this year, is raising transformative gifts for the College’s second century. Philanthropic investments within three priority campaign initiatives will benefit the Surgeon, the Profession, and the Societal Good and will help shape the ACS during the next 100 years. These pillars of investment will sustain meritorious programs and support newly established initiatives:

The Surgeon

Investments in the development of innovative programs to advance simulation-based surgical education and training as well as funding to better engage and embrace international surgeons.

The Profession

Promoting best practices and quality improvements through the newly established Codman Quality and Safety Fund and programs for rural surgery and surgical ethics. The fund is named in honor of Ernest A. Codman, MD, FACS, a key figure in the founding of the College who advocated for the "End Result Idea" – the premise that hospital staff should follow every patient long enough to determine whether the treatment was successful and then learn from failures.

The Societal Good

New funding opportunities for patient education programs and support for surgical volunteerism.

Details will be announced at the 2013 Clinical Congress. For more information, contact Sarah Klein at [email protected].

Fellows and friends of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) have the opportunity throughout the ACS Centennial year to support the ACS Foundation and help guarantee a vital future for surgical quality and lifelong learning. The 1913 Legacy Campaign, which began in April of this year, is raising transformative gifts for the College’s second century. Philanthropic investments within three priority campaign initiatives will benefit the Surgeon, the Profession, and the Societal Good and will help shape the ACS during the next 100 years. These pillars of investment will sustain meritorious programs and support newly established initiatives:

The Surgeon

Investments in the development of innovative programs to advance simulation-based surgical education and training as well as funding to better engage and embrace international surgeons.

The Profession

Promoting best practices and quality improvements through the newly established Codman Quality and Safety Fund and programs for rural surgery and surgical ethics. The fund is named in honor of Ernest A. Codman, MD, FACS, a key figure in the founding of the College who advocated for the "End Result Idea" – the premise that hospital staff should follow every patient long enough to determine whether the treatment was successful and then learn from failures.

The Societal Good

New funding opportunities for patient education programs and support for surgical volunteerism.

Details will be announced at the 2013 Clinical Congress. For more information, contact Sarah Klein at [email protected].