More than 40 million operations are performed in the United States each year, many of them complicated by infection, blood clots and heart problems, among other adverse events. These complications, some of which are preventable, take a toll on patients and the overall cost of health care in Oklahoma and across the country. 

The Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) is a national quality partnership of organizations focused on improving surgical care by significantly reducing surgical complications.  The goal of SCIP is to reduce preventable surgical complications nationwide by 25 percent by 2010.  Surgical care can be improved through better adherence to evidence-based practice recommendations and more attention to designing systems of care with redundant safeguards.

National Support Center

OFMQ holds a contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to support SCIP on a national level.  Our staff of doctors, nurses, epidemiologists and statisticians helps develop and maintain quality measures and develops interventions used by the quality improvement community and hospitals nationwide.  Read more about the Hospital Interventions QIO Support Center (HIQIOSC). 

Local Focus

OFMQ has a long-standing collaborative partnership with Oklahoma hospitals.  We work to improve care for surgical patients in Oklahoma by assisting hospital surgical teams in following national guidelines, which are clinically proven to prevent postoperative infections.  We provide consulting, tools and resources to  help hospitals improve processes incorporating evidence based medicine. 

SCIP Resources and Links:

For more information about the SCIP project, including downloadable fact sheets, resources and tools, visit MedQIC, the national quality improvement website.

Order from OFMQ - A variety of tools are available to download and order at no cost.