Why Surgical Care Measures are Important
Hospitals can improve surgical care and reduce the risk of wound infection after surgery by providing the right medicines at the right time on the day of surgery.
There are also steps that you, as a patient, can take to make sure the surgery is as safe as possible. For example, your doctor or nurse can tell you how to wash with an antibiotic soap the day before surgery. You can also give your doctor or nurse a list of all your medications, including vitamins, herbal medicines and over-the-counter medications. You should also tell your doctor or nurse about any allergies and bad reactions to anesthesia. Sometimes patients get an infection after surgery, even if the hospital took steps to prevent it. Here are signs to look out for:
- the surgical wound is red, hot, and swollen
- you have a fever of over 100 degrees after you go home
- a smelly or yellow/green fluid is coming out of the wound
- your pain is increasing even though you are taking pain medication
Call your doctor or local hospital immediately if you have any of these signs.
View other publicly reported data about surgical care in hospitals:
How is Hillcrest Hospital Performing on Surgical Care?
Antibiotic Given at the Right Time
This score tells you the percent of surgery patients who were given an antibiotic at the right time (within one hour before surgery) to help prevent infection.
This information is important because surgical wound infections can be prevented. Patients given antibiotics, medicines that prevent and treat infections, within the hour before their operation are less likely to get wound infections. Hospital staff should make sure surgery patients get antibiotics at the right time.
Higher percentage is better.
Q = quarter. Example: January - March
* The national average is the most current average available for all hospitals in the United States, and published at www.hospitalcompare.gov. It is the nation-wide average for the twelve months between July 2008 and June 2009. (The national average for earlier time periods may be different.)
Right Kind of Antibiotic Given
This score tells you the percent of surgery patients who received the right kind of antibiotic(s) for their surgery in order to prevent a surgical wound infection.
This information is important because surgical wound infections can be prevented. Certain antibiotics are recommended to help prevent wound infection for particular types of surgery. Hospitals can reduce the risk of wound infection after surgery by making sure the patient gets the right medication at the right time on the day of their surgery.
Q = quarter. Example: January - March
* The national average is the most current average available for all hospitals in the United States, and published at www.hospitalcompare.gov. It is the nation-wide average for the twelve months between July 2008 and June 2009. (The national average for earlier time periods may be different.)
Antibiotic Stopped at the Right Time
This score tells you the percent of eligible surgical patients whose prophylactic or preventive antibiotics were stopped within 24 hours after surgery ended (or 48 hours after open heart surgery or other cardiac surgery). Antibiotics are medicines that prevent and treat infections.
This information is important because antibiotics are often given to patients before surgery to prevent infection. Taking these antibiotics for more than 24 hours after routine surgery is usually not necessary. Continuing the medication longer than necessary can increase the risk of side effects such as stomach aches and serious types of diarrhea. Also, when antibiotics are used for too long, patients can develop resistance to them and the antibiotics won’t work as well.
Higher percentage is better.
Q = quarter. Example: January - March
* The national average is the most current average available for all hospitals in the United States, and published at www.hospitalcompare.gov. It is the nation-wide average for the twelve months between July 2008 and June 2009. (The national average for earlier time periods may be different.)
Beta Blocker Medication Received During Procedure
This score tells you the percent of surgery patients on beta-blocker medicine before they went into the hospital who continued to get that medicine during the time before and after their operation (perioperative period). The perioperative period for cardiac surgery is defined as 24 hours before the operation starts through the time the patient leaves the recovery room.
This information is important because beta blockers are medicines that reduce blood pressure by helping the heart beat more slowly and with less force. This helps the heart work better and lowers blood pressure in people with high blood pressure. This medicine has to be taken every day to keep blood pressure under control. Over a number of years, researchers compared the results of operations done on a large number of patients who were taking beta blockers before they went into the hospital. The patients who kept getting this medicine for the whole time they were in the hospital had a much lower death rate for up to 1 year after surgery than patients who did not have this medicine while they were in the hospital.
Higher percentage is better.
Q = quarter. Example: January - March
* The national average is the most current average available for all hospitals in the United States, and published at www.hospitalcompare.gov. It is the nation-wide average for the twelve months between July 2008 and June 2009. (The national average for earlier time periods may be different.)
Blood Clot Prevention Ordered
This score tells you the percent of patients with certain types of surgeries whose doctors ordered treatments to prevent blood clots, called venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis, anytime from hospital arrival to 48 hours after surgery has ended.
This information is important because venous thrombosis is a condition in which blood clots (thrombus) form. Certain surgeries increase the risk that the patient will develop a blood clot (venous thromboembolism). When patients stay still for a long time after some types of surgery, they are more likely to develop a blood clot in the veins of the legs, thighs or pelvis that may limit blood flow, causing swelling, redness and pain. If the clot breaks off, it can get stuck in the lungs, causing a pulmonary embolism, which can lead to death. Doctors can order preventive treatments to reduce the risk. These treatments may include blood thinning medications, elastic support stockings or mechanical air stockings that help blood circulation.
Higher percentage is better.
Q = quarter. Example: January - March
* The national average is the most current average available for all hospitals in the United States, and published at www.hospitalcompare.gov. It is the nation-wide average for the twelve months between July 2008 and June 2009. (The national average for earlier time periods may be different.)
Blood Clot Prevention Received at the Right Time
This score tells you the percent of patients who received the appropriate treatment to prevent blood clots called venous thromboembolism (VTE) at the right time (within 24 hours before or after surgery).
This information is important because venous thrombosis is a condition in which blood clots (thrombus) form. Certain surgeries increase the risk that the patient will develop a blood clot (venous thromboembolism). When patients stay still for a long time after some types of surgery, they are more likely to develop a blood clot in the veins of the legs, thighs or pelvis that may limit blood flow, causing swelling, redness and pain. If the clot breaks off, it can get stuck in the lungs, causing a pulmonary embolism, which can lead to death. Doctors can order preventive treatments to reduce the risk. These treatments may include blood thinning medications, elastic support stockings or mechanical air stockings that help blood circulation.
Higher percentage is better.
Q = quarter. Example: January - March
* The national average is the most current average available for all hospitals in the United States, and published at www.hospitalcompare.gov. It is the nation-wide average for the twelve months between July 2008 and June 2009. (The national average for earlier time periods may be different.