The journal of trauma and acute care surgery
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J Trauma Acute Care Surg · Jan 2015
Multicenter StudyVariations in the implementation of acute care surgery: results from a national survey of university-affiliated hospitals.
To date, no studies have reported nationwide adoption of acute care surgery (ACS) or identified structural and/or process variations for the care of emergency general surgery (EGS) patients within such models. ⋯ The potential of the ACS on the national crisis in access to EGS care is not fully met. Variations in EGS processes of care among adopters of ACS suggest that standardized criteria for ACS implementation, much like trauma center verification criteria, may be beneficial.
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J Trauma Acute Care Surg · Jan 2015
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyOutcomes after emergency general surgery at teaching versus nonteaching hospitals.
Previous analyses demonstrate teaching hospitals to have worse outcomes raising concerns for quality of care. The purpose of this study was to compare outcomes between teaching and nonteaching hospitals for emergency surgical conditions in a national sample. ⋯ National estimates of outcomes for EGS conditions demonstrate comparable results between teaching and nonteaching hospitals. Concerns regarding quality of care and higher costs at teaching hospitals may be unfounded. Further research to test for differences by specific EGS conditions, operative management, and hospital costs are warranted.