Trauma Quality Improvement Program (TQIP)

Overview

The fundamental goal of TQIP is to provide risk-adjusted benchmarking of designated/verified trauma centers to track outcomes and improve patient care. To accomplish this, the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma (ACS COT) will utilize the infrastructure of the National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB) to collect valid and reliable data, provide feedback to participating trauma centers, and identify institutional characteristics that are associated with improved outcomes. TQIP supports the College’s mission of promoting the highest standards of surgical care through the evaluation of surgical outcomes in clinical practice, and promises to improve the quality of trauma surgical care.

The objective of TQIP is to build upon this existing infrastructure through enhancements in the following areas: data collection, benchmarking, and identifying structures and processes of care.

TQIP Participation Packet

Getting Started (35K PDF) outlines the steps to follow in preparing for TQIP participation.

Services (30K PDF) is a quick list of the services that hospitals will receive through TQIP.

TQIP Hospital Info (85K PDF) is both a PDF document and Microsoft PowerPoint file (185K PPT) for use with your hospital administration.

The TQIP Information Form (950K PDF) is a short info form for you to fill out and send to us to let us know of your interest in TQIP.

The Sample Benchmark Report (285K PDF) is an example of the risk adjusted report prepared for pilot hospitals.

How to get started in TQIP

1. Make sure your trauma center participates in NTDB and plans to contribute data in every call for data.
2. Check with your trauma registry vendor to confirm that you have fully implemented the NTDB’s new data dictionary, the National Trauma Data Standard (NTDS).
3. Discuss TQIP participation with your registry vendor to be sure your registry is ready for TQIP.
4. Submit a completed ACS TQIP Information Form (950K PDF).
5. Execute a Hospital Participation Agreement and pay the annual fee of $9,000.
6. Obtain commitment from the Trauma Medical Director or his/her designee to oversee ACS TQIP implementation and administration at the Hospital. The TMD or designee must agree to participate in semi-annual conference calls and attend an annual national TQIP meeting.
7. Agree to employ a qualified, dedicated registrar/abstractor to collect and submit data to the NTDB (in most cases, this is your current registrar).
   1. The registrar must successfully complete the ACS TQIP training program with a minimum score set by the COT
   2. The registrar must complete quarterly case studies and participate in quarterly   conference calls.
8. Provide funding (travel and accommodations) for the registrar to attend initial registrar training session and an ACS TQIP meeting once per year.
9. Registration is included in the annual TQIP fee. Adhere to the NTDB data submission guidelines, defined by the National Trauma Data Standard (NTDS).
10. Follow data validation procedures, including quarterly submission of registry data for data quality purposes, and agree to periodic external data validation site visits.

Contact TQIP

American College of Surgeons
Trauma Quality Improvement Program
633 N. St. Clair 26th Floor
Chicago , IL 60611
tqip@facs.org

Melanie Neal, NTDB Manager
E-Mail: mneal@facs.org
Phone: 312-202-5536

Revised July 15, 2009

NTDB

Trauma Programs