Archive for August, 2017
Looking forward – August 2017
The College’s and the ABS’ role in addressing concerns related to MOC requirements is the focus of this month’s column.
Surgeon stewardship of the opioid epidemic: An introduction
In this introduction to the annual RAS-ACS issue, the author describes the surgeon’s role in alleviating the opioid epidemic at the national, state, and local levels.
The general surgeon’s role in enhancing patient education about prescription opioids
The role of an interdisciplinary approach to minimize opioid use and enhance pain management, as well as the benefits of the Opioid Safety Initiative Toolkit, are described.
Postoperative opioid prescriptions: How surgeons can alleviate the opioid crisis
The Turn the Tide initiative is summarized as are alternative postoperative pain management strategies.
Surgeons and the opioid epidemic: Treatment and education strategies for the practicing surgeon
This article explains the effect of implicit biases on assessment and treatment of patient pain and describes how enhanced recovery after surgery protocols are used across many specialties to reduce rates of opioid use.
Surgical leadership is required to reverse the opioid crisis
Describes how surgeons can help to reverse the opioid crisis through research and advocacy efforts and describes recent ACS efforts in this area.
Preoperative communication promotes opioid stewardship
Strategies for improving communication at the preoperative stage are summarized, and the role of informed consent in opioid stewardship is described.
Reframing surgical leadership in 2017: Surgeon-scientist or surgeon-advocate?
The subject of this article—the benefits and challenges associated with the surgeon-scientist and the surgeon-advocate roles—will be debated at this year’s RAS-ACS Symposium at Clinical Congress 2017 in San Diego, CA.
Statement on Gender Salary Equity
The following Statement on Gender Salary Equity was developed by the ACS Women in Surgery Committee in partnership with the Association of Women Surgeons; it was approved by the ACS Board of Regents at its June 2017 meeting.
Statement on the Opioid Abuse Epidemic
The following Statement on the Opioid Abuse Epidemic was developed by the Division of Advocacy and Health Policy and the Division of Education Patient Education Committee; it was approved by the ACS Board of Regents at its June 2017 meeting.
Revised Statement on the Development and Use of Proprietary Guidelines for Accountable Patient-Centered Care
The following Revised Statement on Proprietary Guidelines for Accountable Patient-Centered Care was developed by the Board of Governors’ Surgical Care Delivery Workgroup and approved by the ACS Board of Regents at its June 2017 meeting.
Revised Statement on the Rationale for Emergency Surgical Call
The following Revised Statement on the Rationale for Emergency Surgical Call was developed by the Board of Governors’ Surgical Care Delivery Workgroup and was approved by the ACS Board of Regents at its June 2017 meeting.
Health insurance audit processes, penalties, and appeals
The nine common Medicare and Medicaid audits that could affect surgeons are summarized.
Unlisted procedures: Strategies for successful reimbursement
Reporting unlisted CPT codes, and fee-setting considerations for these codes, are the focus of this month’s column.
Current role of immunotherapy in urologic cancers
The role of immunotherapy in the treatment of urologic cancers is summarized and the efficacy of novel immunotherapeutics, particularly checkpoint inhibitors, are described, which may hold promise for a wide variety of tumor types.
Next generation SSR helps surgeons comply with regulatory mandates and improve performance
The Surgeon Specific Registry’s new features are described, including the opportunity for individual surgeons to fulfill clinical practice needs, such as logging cases, tracking outcomes, and analyzing data.
Improper sterilization and high-level disinfection of equipment challenges organizations
The causes and effects of substandard sterilization and disinfection, including lack of training and access to evidence-based guidelines, are described.
“Gone viral”: Trauma and hepatitis C
This month’s column examines the occurrence of injured patients with a diagnosis of hepatitis C in the National Trauma Data Bank® (NTDB®) research dataset.
Letters to the Editor
A letter regarding a recent article published in the Bulletin and the author’s response are featured.
Dr. Timothy Chuter receives 2017 ACS Jacobson Innovation Award
The 2017 Jacobson Innovation Award honors the accomplishments of Timothy A.M. Chuter, MB, BS, DM, FACS, a general vascular surgeon known for his pioneering work in the development of microsurgery.
