MULTIDISCIPLINARY PLENARY SESSIONS
MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO ADHESIONS
Thursday, September 18, 2008
8:30am–10:00am
Adhesion formation is part of the normal healing process and has been observed in 90-100% of all abdominal surgeries. Adhesions are a clinically relevant problem with the potential for significant morbidity for the patient. Postsurgical intraabdominal adhesions account for 79% of acute intestinal obstructions and are frequently responsible for chronic abdominal pain and infertility. Mechanical injury to the peritoneum, peritoneal ischemia, manipulation, exposure to foreign materials including powder, gloves and prosthetic materials; and inflammatory diseases and processes have been demonstrated to cause adhesions. This plenary session will discuss the etiology, biology, management and prevention of adhesions and their related complications from a multidisciplinary perspective and with emphasis on strategies for the minimally invasive surgeon. Current clinical approaches will be stressed and correlated with new solutions on the horizon from promising clinical and basic research. An interactive panel discussion with audience participation will conclude the session and highlight strategies for success.
FACULTY AND PRESENTATIONS
Raymond J. Lanzafame, MD, MBA, Director
Prosthetics, Synthetics and Biologicals: Notes from the Laboratory
Charles H. Koh, MD, Co-Director
Abdominal and Pelvic Adhesion, the GYN Perspective
Phillip Shadduck, MD
Adhesions in the Abdomen, the General Surgeon’s Dilemma
Kathleen Rodgers, MD
New Strategies in Prevention and Management of Adhesions: The Research Perspective
PAY FOR PERFORMANCE (P4P)
Friday, September 19, 2008
7:30am–8:30am
Health Care has seen a growing emphasis on Quality, Safety and Performance in recent years. There have been efforts by healthcare groups like the AMA and The Institute of Medicine to define quality in health care as, “the degree to which health services for individuals and populations increase the likelihood of desired health outcomes that are consistent with current professional knowledge.” The delivery of high quality care has been centered on health outcomes and the expectations of patients and other customers of healthcare.
Quality, Safety and Performance are an integral part of the new culture of healthcare. Traditionally the blame has been placed on the individual for the lack of quality and safety that caused the error. The new culture of safety analyses systems that are conducive to poor quality; system failures are identified as opportunities to improve safety and quality.
Pay for performance systems link compensation to measures of work quality or goals. At the present time, Medicare pays providers for services delivered, regardless of the quality of care. Medicare has various pay-for-performance (P4P) initiatives in offices, clinics and hospitals, seeking to improve quality and avoid unnecessary health care costs. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have several demonstration projects underway offering compensation for improvements. There is no question that Pay for Performance is here to stay. At the present time the government, health insurance companies and other private organizations are actively developing Pay for Performance models. It is important for Surgeons to learn and understand this system and its possible impact on their practice.
The new changes in healthcare have created financial pressures on hospitals. The previously lucrative surgical services are now facing financial challenges. The costs of materials and services continue to increase while the reimbursement for services has remained the same or in many cases has decreased. Many institutions have resorted to increase their volume of patients, while others tried to increase the number of lucrative cases. The institutions that have survived have implemented effective changes through improved processes to increase their efficiency and lower their costs.
FACULTY AND PRESENTATIONS
Gustavo Stringel, MD, Director
Safety, Quality and Improving Operating Room Performance
Raymond J. Lanzafame, MD, MBA, Co-Director
Financial Aspects of Surgical Care. Past, Present and Future
Alex Gandsas, MD
Pay for Performance and Transparency
