Multidisciplinary Teams Create Systems of Care

Experts from a variety of disciplines will come together to discuss topics related to  preoperative, perioperative and postoperative care for cardiovascular surgery patients during Sunday’s full-day symposium, “Improving Systems of Care, Quality and Safety.”  

“The AATS recognizes that the delivery of high-quality, patient-centered cardiovascular care is best achieved through the use of proficient multidisciplinary teams,” said course co-chair Katherine J. Hoercher, RN, FAHA, of the Cleveland Clinic. “This symposium, with its focus on interprofessional education, is an important mechanism for developing team-based care competencies that form the underpinning of high-functioning teams.”

By bringing together faculty and learners from multiple cardiovascular surgery professions, attendees can learn how effective collaboration and utilization of standardized processes can improve outcomes in systems of care, quality and safety, Ms. Hoercher said.

“The session should provide the audience with nuts-and-bolts approaches to everyday problems through a global view of the difficulties we face in consistently delivering the highest quality medical care,” added course co-chair Glenn J.R. Whitman, MD, of The Johns Hopkins Hospital.
The morning session “will address a variety of common problems that we all face in managing cardiac surgical patients,” Dr. Whitman said. “The topics are varied and include, for example, informed consent, optimizing preoperative surgical readiness, as well as specific aspects of postoperative management such as goal-directed resuscitation and approach to the cardiac arrest patient.”

Included in the morning presentations are four talks on a team approach to minimizing transfusions, including preadmission use of epoetin; preoperative evaluation and intraoperative management; perioperative management of blood preservation; and risks, recognition and management of post cardiopulmonary bypass hemorrhage.

The afternoon portion of the symposium “will continue the morning objective and focus on specific postoperative morbidities, including hyperglycemia, perioperative myocardial infarctions and strokes,” Dr. Whitman said.

The session will conclude with presentations from five nationally-renowned speakers. Douglas R. Johnston, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic, will discuss what surgical teams can learn from fighter pilots, special ops forces and other elite performers; Peter Pronovost, MD, of Johns Hopkins Medicine, and its Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality, will discuss organizational structure and process factors for improving cardiac surgery quality and safety; Don Goldmann, MD, of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, will provide insights on the impact of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) on the delivery of cardiovascular care; David M. Shahian, MD, of Harvard Medical School, who oversees the Society of Thoracic Surgeons’ database, will talk about meaningful outcome measures in cardiac surgery; and Alex B. Haynes, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital, will review surgical checklists and their association with decreased morbidity and mortality.

“This session should be of interest to all AATS meeting attendees as we navigate the ever-changing landscape of health care delivery,” Ms. Hoercher said. “The information presented will be something the audience can’t easily obtain elsewhere,” added Dr. Whitman.
“I hope many of the AATS meeting attendees, both surgeons and non-surgeons, will join us at what will be an excellent educational opportunity,” Ms. Hoercher said.

Experts from a variety of disciplines will come together to discuss topics related to  preoperative, perioperative and postoperative care for cardiovascular surgery patients during Sunday’s full-day symposium, “Improving Systems of Care, Quality and Safety.”  

“The AATS recognizes that the delivery of high-quality, patient-centered cardiovascular care is best achieved through the use of proficient multidisciplinary teams,” said course co-chair Katherine J. Hoercher, RN, FAHA, of the Cleveland Clinic. “This symposium, with its focus on interprofessional education, is an important mechanism for developing team-based care competencies that form the underpinning of high-functioning teams.”

By bringing together faculty and learners from multiple cardiovascular surgery professions, attendees can learn how effective collaboration and utilization of standardized processes can improve outcomes in systems of care, quality and safety, Ms. Hoercher said.

“The session should provide the audience with nuts-and-bolts approaches to everyday problems through a global view of the difficulties we face in consistently delivering the highest quality medical care,” added course co-chair Glenn J.R. Whitman, MD, of The Johns Hopkins Hospital.
The morning session “will address a variety of common problems that we all face in managing cardiac surgical patients,” Dr. Whitman said. “The topics are varied and include, for example, informed consent, optimizing preoperative surgical readiness, as well as specific aspects of postoperative management such as goal-directed resuscitation and approach to the cardiac arrest patient.”

Included in the morning presentations are four talks on a team approach to minimizing transfusions, including preadmission use of epoetin; preoperative evaluation and intraoperative management; perioperative management of blood preservation; and risks, recognition and management of post cardiopulmonary bypass hemorrhage.

The afternoon portion of the symposium “will continue the morning objective and focus on specific postoperative morbidities, including hyperglycemia, perioperative myocardial infarctions and strokes,” Dr. Whitman said.

The session will conclude with presentations from five nationally-renowned speakers. Douglas R. Johnston, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic, will discuss what surgical teams can learn from fighter pilots, special ops forces and other elite performers; Peter Pronovost, MD, of Johns Hopkins Medicine, and its Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality, will discuss organizational structure and process factors for improving cardiac surgery quality and safety; Don Goldmann, MD, of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, will provide insights on the impact of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) on the delivery of cardiovascular care; David M. Shahian, MD, of Harvard Medical School, who oversees the Society of Thoracic Surgeons’ database, will talk about meaningful outcome measures in cardiac surgery; and Alex B. Haynes, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital, will review surgical checklists and their association with decreased morbidity and mortality.

“This session should be of interest to all AATS meeting attendees as we navigate the ever-changing landscape of health care delivery,” Ms. Hoercher said. “The information presented will be something the audience can’t easily obtain elsewhere,” added Dr. Whitman.
“I hope many of the AATS meeting attendees, both surgeons and non-surgeons, will join us at what will be an excellent educational opportunity,” Ms. Hoercher said.

Experts from a variety of disciplines will come together to discuss topics related to  preoperative, perioperative and postoperative care for cardiovascular surgery patients during Sunday’s full-day symposium, “Improving Systems of Care, Quality and Safety.”  

“The AATS recognizes that the delivery of high-quality, patient-centered cardiovascular care is best achieved through the use of proficient multidisciplinary teams,” said course co-chair Katherine J. Hoercher, RN, FAHA, of the Cleveland Clinic. “This symposium, with its focus on interprofessional education, is an important mechanism for developing team-based care competencies that form the underpinning of high-functioning teams.”

By bringing together faculty and learners from multiple cardiovascular surgery professions, attendees can learn how effective collaboration and utilization of standardized processes can improve outcomes in systems of care, quality and safety, Ms. Hoercher said.

“The session should provide the audience with nuts-and-bolts approaches to everyday problems through a global view of the difficulties we face in consistently delivering the highest quality medical care,” added course co-chair Glenn J.R. Whitman, MD, of The Johns Hopkins Hospital.
The morning session “will address a variety of common problems that we all face in managing cardiac surgical patients,” Dr. Whitman said. “The topics are varied and include, for example, informed consent, optimizing preoperative surgical readiness, as well as specific aspects of postoperative management such as goal-directed resuscitation and approach to the cardiac arrest patient.”

Included in the morning presentations are four talks on a team approach to minimizing transfusions, including preadmission use of epoetin; preoperative evaluation and intraoperative management; perioperative management of blood preservation; and risks, recognition and management of post cardiopulmonary bypass hemorrhage.

The afternoon portion of the symposium “will continue the morning objective and focus on specific postoperative morbidities, including hyperglycemia, perioperative myocardial infarctions and strokes,” Dr. Whitman said.

The session will conclude with presentations from five nationally-renowned speakers. Douglas R. Johnston, MD, of the Cleveland Clinic, will discuss what surgical teams can learn from fighter pilots, special ops forces and other elite performers; Peter Pronovost, MD, of Johns Hopkins Medicine, and its Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality, will discuss organizational structure and process factors for improving cardiac surgery quality and safety; Don Goldmann, MD, of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, will provide insights on the impact of the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act (MACRA) on the delivery of cardiovascular care; David M. Shahian, MD, of Harvard Medical School, who oversees the Society of Thoracic Surgeons’ database, will talk about meaningful outcome measures in cardiac surgery; and Alex B. Haynes, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital, will review surgical checklists and their association with decreased morbidity and mortality.

“This session should be of interest to all AATS meeting attendees as we navigate the ever-changing landscape of health care delivery,” Ms. Hoercher said. “The information presented will be something the audience can’t easily obtain elsewhere,” added Dr. Whitman.
“I hope many of the AATS meeting attendees, both surgeons and non-surgeons, will join us at what will be an excellent educational opportunity,” Ms. Hoercher said.