Illinois partnership aims to make surgery safer

Illinois hospitals are being recruited to join an effort focused on the quality of surgical care.

The Illinois Surgical Quality Improvement Collaborative was announced Thursday. It's a three-year effort organized by the state chapters of the American College of Surgeons, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois and Northwestern Medicine.

Data about surgeries at participating hospitals will be analyzed with the goal of lessening complications, the length of inpatient stays, readmission rates and deaths.

Each hospital will receive customized reports so they can see where they need to improve. Northwestern will provide training and support, as well as do research about the initiative.

Studies have shown that preventing even minor surgical complications can save $10,000 to $30,000 in additional costs per patient.