Preventing Post Surgical Blood Clots

Preventing Blood Clots After Certain Types of Surgery at HealthONE Hospitals in Denver, Colorado

Timeframe: January 2011 through March 2011
(Most Recent Data Available)

Timeframe: October 2009 through September 2010
(Yearly National and State Comparisons)

What Does This Measure?

The percentage of eligible surgery patients who received treatment to prevent blood clots before or after selected surgeries.

Why Is This Important?

Patients sometimes develop blood clots after they undergo surgery. If blood flow is limited it can cause a potentially fatal lung condition called pulmonary embolism.

Treatment to prevent blood clots can include blood thinning medications, elastic support stockings, or mechanical air stockings that promote circulation in the legs.

What Are We Doing to Improve Our Performance?

HealthONE hospitals have implemented several initiatives to improve our performance on this measure. These include:

• Electronic medication records
• Evidence-based medicine
• Nurse and physician training
• Patient safety and quality committee