Abstract
This article is based on a speech that Thomas R. Russell, MD, FACS, Executive Director of the American College of Surgeons, delivered to the Japan Surgical Society in May 2008, which centered on quality of care and patient safety issues and their relationship to professionalism. The article provides a brief overview of the American and Japanese health care systems, outlines the quality and safety issues facing our health care systems, and addresses the changes that need to occur within surgery’s professional culture in order to improve patient care. In addition, he explains what the American College of Surgeons is doing to advance quality, safety, and professionalism.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. OECD health data 2007. Available at http://www.oecd.org/health/healthdata. Accessed 28 April 2008. OECD; 2007.
U.S. Census Bureau, International Database. Infant mortality and life expectancy for selected countries, 2007. Available at http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0004393.html. Accessed 28 April 2008.
Liang BA. Legal challenges for surgeon participation in patient safety activities: outlining the law and its risks. In: Manuel BM, Nora PF, editors. Surgical patient safety: essential information for surgeons in today’s environment. Chicago, IL: American College of Surgeons; 2004. Chapter 11.
Kohn LT, Corrigan JM, Donaldson MS (editors). To err is human: building a safer health system. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 1999.
Helmreich RL, Musson DM, Sexton B. Human factors and safety in surgery. In: Manuel BM, Nora PF, editors. Surgical patient safety: essential information for surgeons in today’s environment. Chicago, IL: American College of Surgeons; 2004. Chapter 1.
Rogers SO Jr, Gawande AA, Kwann M, Puopolo AL, Yoon C, Brennan TA, et al. Analysis of surgical errors in closed malpractice claims at 4 liability insurers. Surgery 2006;140(1):25–33.
Ikegami N, Campbell JC. Health care reform in Japan: the virtues of muddling through. Health Affairs 1999;18(3):56–75.
Cook RI, O’Connor M, Render M, Woods D. Operating at the sharp end: the human factors of complex technical work and its implications for patient safety. In: Manuel BM, Nora PF, editors. Surgical patient safety: essential information for surgeons in today’s environment. Chicago, IL: American College of Surgeons; 2004. Chapter 2.
Griffen FD Jr, Stephens LS, Alexander JB, Bailey HR, Maizel SE, Sutton BH, et al. The American College of Surgeons’ closed claims study: new insights for improving care. J Am Coll Surg 2007;204:561–569.
Griffen FD, Stephens, LS, Alexander JB, Bailey HR, Maizel SE, Sutton BH, et al. Violations of behavioral practices revealed in closed claims reviews. J Am Coll Surg 2008;248(3):468–474.
Ikegami N, Campbell JC. Japan’s health care system: containing costs and attempting reform. Health Affairs 2004;23(3):26–36.
McGlynn EA, Asch SM, Adams J, Keesey J, Hicks J, DeCristofaro A, et al. The quality of health care delivered to adults in the United States. N Engl J Med 2003;348:2635–2645.
ACGME Outcome Project: General competencies. Chicago, IL: Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education; 2001. http://www.acgme.org/outcome/comp/compFull.asp. Accessed December 19, 2007.
Nahrwold DL. The competence movement: a report on the activities of the American Board of Medical Specialties. Bull Am Coll Surg 2000;85(11):14–18.
Satava RM. The role of surgical simulation in patient safety and the importance of metrics for training and assessing surgical technical performance. In: Manuel BM, Nora PF, editors. Surgical patient safety: essential information for surgeons in today’s environment. Chicago, IL: American College of Surgeons; 2004. Chapter 13.
Sachdeva Ajit K, Blair PG. Enhancing patient safety through educational interventions. In: Manuel BM, Nora PF, editors. Surgical patient safety: essential information for surgeons in today’s environment. Chicago, IL: American College of Surgeons; 2004. Chapter 14.
Russell TR, Brown CA. Error detection, analysis, and reporting. In: Manuel BM, Nora PF, editors. Surgical patient safety: essential information for surgeons in today’s environment. Chicago, IL: American College of Surgeons; 2004. Chapter 8.
Harris JA. What surgeons should know about … Medicare’s physician quality reporting initiative. Bull Am Coll Surg 2007;92(6):8–11, 38.
Glendinning D. P4P demo pays off for Medicare, but not for most doctors involved. Am Med News 2007;Aug 6:1–2.
Pear R. Medicare says it won’t cover hospital errors. NY Times 2007;August 19:A1.
Nomura H, Nakayama T. The Japanese healthcare system. BMJ 2005:331:648–649.
Spencer FC. Small S. Organizing for patient safety at the institutional level. In: Manuel BM, Nora PF, editors. Surgical patient safety: essential information for surgeons in today’s environment. Chicago, IL: American College of Surgeons; 2004. Chapter 3.
Hiatt H. Protecting the medical commons: who is responsible. N Engl J Med 1975;293(5):235–241.
American College of Surgeons. Accredited education institutes. http://www.facs.org/education/accreditationprogram/index.html. Accessed December 20, 2007.
Nora PF. Personal communication. December 20, 2007.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Japan Surgical Society State of the Art Lecture
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Russell, T.R. Quality and safety initiatives in the future practice of surgery: Meeting patient demands for enhanced professionalism. Surg Today 39, 739–745 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00595-008-4014-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00595-008-4014-1