Surgical Infection Prevention Project Example

SCIP 3 Six Sigma project improved compliance rate to 90% and generated $35,000 in annual savings--Each year, more than 4,500 patients receive inpatient surgeries at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center (PSJMC). Approximately 1,000 of these patients meet the criteria established by the Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) guidelines to discontinue antibiotics within 24 hours after surgery end time. SCIP was undertaken to decrease morbidity and mortality associated with postoperative infections in surgical patients, and provides national, evidence-based recommendations. The recommendation to discontinue antibiotics is the third quality measure of the SCIP index and is known as SCIP 3. PSJMC's compliance with SCIP 3 had remained persistently low at approximately 36 percent – the hospital's poorest compliance with any national clinical quality recommendation. In August 2006, PSJMC launched a Six Sigma project to address the problem. The standardized processes and tools have enab