{"id":7582,"date":"2024-02-15T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-15T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7582"},"modified":"2024-02-15T14:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-02-15T14:00:00","slug":"va-launches-new-surgery-initiative-across-the-nation-a-critical-step-to-saving-the-lives-of-veterans-considering-surgery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7582","title":{"rendered":"VA launches new surgery initiative across the nation, a critical step to saving the lives of Veterans considering surgery"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally published:<\/strong> 2024-02-15T14:00:00+00:00. Historical source article: benefits, rules, amounts and deadlines may have changed. Check the official source for current information.<\/p>\n

WASHINGTON <\/strong>\u2014 This week, the Joint Commission and National Quality Forum announced<\/a> VA\u2019s Surgical Pause practice has been recognized with the prestigious John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award<\/a> in the National Level Innovation in Patient Safety and Quality category for its innovative efforts resulting in improved health care outcomes of frail Veterans considering surgery.<\/p>\n

The Surgical Pause is an initiative that uses a risk analysis index to screen Veterans for frailty in 30 seconds, effectively flagging high-risk Veterans so the surgical team can ensure the proposed treatment plans both mitigate known risks and align with the Veterans\u2019 overarching life goals. Routine frailty screening with the RAI rapidly identifies the 5-10% of patients who experience disproportionately high rates of postoperative complication, loss of independence and mortality. For these patients, a brief \u201cpause\u201d permits further evaluation to review of goals of care and optimize treatment plans.<\/p>\n

This initiative, which has already been launched at 50 VA facilities and is rolling out across the nation, is proven to decrease mortality among Veterans.A 2023 study published in JAMA Surgery<\/a> reported that from July 1, 2016 to May 31, 2019, one-year mortality fell from 20% to 16% after implementing the Surgical Pause in a sample of more than 50,000 patients.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Surgical Pause is an innovative, data-driven clinical practice that saves Veterans lives by predicting and preventing complications before they happen,\u201d said VA Under Secretary for Health, Shereef Elnahal, M.D. <\/strong>\u201cWe are thrilled to be rolling out the Surgical Pause across the nation as a part of VA\u2019s steadfast commitment to providing Veterans with high-quality, world-class health care they deserve.\u201d<\/p>\n

VA is proven to be the best, most affordable health care in America for Veterans. In 2023 alone, peer-reviewed studies\u00a0showed<\/a>\u00a0that VA health care is better than or equal to non-VA health care; nearly 70% of VA hospitals received 4 or 5 stars in the annual\u00a0CMS Hospital ratings<\/a>, compared to just 41% of non-VA hospitals; VA hospitals outperformed non-VA hospitals in all 10 patient satisfaction metrics in\u00a0Medicare\u2019s latest survey of patients<\/a>; and more than 91%<\/a>\u00a0of Veterans trust VA with their care.<\/p>\n

Surgical Pause is led by VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System Surgeon Daniel Hall, M.D., with support from VHA\u2019s National Surgery Office, Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care<\/a> and VHA\u2019s Diffusion of Excellence<\/a> program.<\/p>\n

VHA\u2019s National Surgery Office serves as a champion for the Surgical Pause, formally adopting it as a national initiative in 2023. The National Surgery Office will support implementation at VA facilities with surgical programs to further improve outcomes and align treatment plans with Veterans\u2019 overarching life goals. To learn more, visit the Surgical Pause page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n

Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs<\/a>. Its Veterans is an independent publication and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

VA launches new nationwide surgery initiative<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":67,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-veterans-health-care"],"yoast_head":"\nVA launches new surgery initiative across the nation, a critical step to saving the lives of Veterans considering surgery - Its Veterans<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"VA launches new nationwide surgery initiative\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=7582\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"VA launches new surgery initiative across the nation, a critical step to saving the lives of Veterans considering surgery - 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