Newswise — ASA® invites all health care organizations to apply to participate in its PSH learning collaborative. Applications are being accepted through May 30, 2014. The PSH collaborative of health care organizations will work to improve surgical patients’ care from the moment surgery is planned, through recovery, discharge and the first 30 days post-operatively.

Collaborative learning is designed to help organizations by creating a network where interested organizations can learn from each other and from recognized experts in the areas for improvement.

The PSH learning collaborative involves clinical and administrative staff from health care facilities working together to redesign their systems to a patient-centered, physician-led, team-based practice model of coordinated care that guides patients through the entire surgical experience. The collaborative will proactively pursue care redesign strategies to enhance the surgical patient’s experience, improve quality and outcomes, and reduce costs. This includes better care coordination to reduce length of stay, readmissions and complications. The ultimate goal is to create an evidence-based “road map” for other health care organizations to spread knowledge and best practices of the PSH model.

With more than 51 million inpatient procedures performed nationally each year, surgical services represent a major component of health care expenditures and a sizeable opportunity to reduce costs and improve outcomes.

“Too often, perioperative care plans are variable and fragmented,” said ASA President Jane C. K. Fitch, M.D. “ASA’s PSH learning collaborative is designed to achieve the triple aim of improving health, improving health care delivery and reducing costs. ASA is now accepting applications from health care organizations who want to become leaders in this transformative model of patient care. The collaborative will work to achieve the goal that the entire perioperative episode of care is completed as one continuum of care.”

To receive an application, please email Celeste Kirschner, PSH executive, at [email protected].

The American Society of AnesthesiologistsFounded in 1905, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) is an educational, research and scientific society with more than 52,000 members organized to raise and maintain the standards of the medical practice of anesthesiology. ASA is committed to ensuring physician anesthesiologists evaluate and supervise the medical care of patients before, during and after surgery to provide the highest quality and safest care every patient deserves. For more information on the field of anesthesiology, visit the American Society of Anesthesiologists online at asahq.org. To learn more about the role physician anesthesiologists play in ensuring patient safety, visit asahq.org/WhenSecondsCount.

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