A trauma outreach program provided by a level I trauma center is an effective way to initiate peer review at referring hospitals and foster process improvements.
BACKGROUND
The initial care of critically injured patients has profound effects on ultimate outcomes. The "golden hour" of trauma care is often provided by rural hospitals before definitive transfer. There are, however, no standardized methods for providing educational feedback to these hospitals for the purposes of performance improvement. We hypothesized that an outreach program would stimulate peer review and identify systematic deficiencies in the care of patients with injuries.


METHODS
We developed a quality improvement program aimed at providing educational feedback to hospitals that referred patients to our American College of Surgeons-verified level I trauma center. We traveled to each referral center to provide feedback on the initial treatment and ultimate outcome of patients that were transferred to us. These feedback sessions were presented in the format of case presentations and case discussions.


RESULTS
The outreach program was presented at each hospital every 3 months to 6 months. Nine hospitals were included in our program. We received 334 patients in transfer from these hospitals during the study period. Formal peer review that focused on trauma patients increased from 14% of hospitals to 100% of hospitals after institution of the program. Eighty-five percent of hospitals thought that the care of patients with injuries was improved as a result of the program. Eighty-five percent of hospitals developed process improvement initiatives as a result of the program.


CONCLUSIONS
A formal outreach program can stimulate peer review at rural hospitals, provide continuing education in the care of patients with injuries, and foster process improvements at referring hospitals.
Byrnes
Matthew C
MC
Division of Trauma, Department of Surgery, North Memorial Trauma Institute, North Memorial Medical Center, Robbinsdale, Minnesota 55455, USA. mbyrnes150@yahoo.com
Irwin
Eric
E
Becker
Leslie
L
Thorson
Melissa
M
Beilman
Greg
G
Horst
Patrick
P
Croston
Kevin
K
D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D006742:Hospital Bed Capacity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D010380:Peer Review; D017064:Process Assessment, Health Care; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000592:standards*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D015996:Survival Rate; D014193:Trauma Centers / Q000592:standards*; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000628:therapy*