Verification Program
Emergency General Surgery Verification Program
One of the biggest challenges facing hospitals is caring for emergency general surgery patients. Emergency general surgery conditions account for more than 4 million hospital admissions annually and these patients experience 3 times the mortality rate and 6 times the complication rate compared to elective surgical patients.
To account for these cases, the American College of Surgeons, in collaboration with the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, developed the Emergency General Surgery Verification Program (EGS-VP).
Nearly 50% of operative mortality is due to unplanned emergency surgery presenting hospitals with a complex problem that has been difficult to solve. Using the ACS standards as part of the EGS-VP, hospitals can achieve better outcomes through focusing on the care and treatment of these unplanned medical emergencies. The EGS-VP standards help provide intervention and prevent adverse outcomes in high-risk populations.
Hospitals that participate in one of our quality programs, including EGS-VP, earn the distinction as an ACS Surgical Quality Partner (SQP).
Cost Effective Patient Care
Get Started
Why Is the EGS-VP Program Important?
Organized and appropriately resourced emergency general surgery care is better for patients, better for providers, and reduces costs while increasing productivity by decreasing delays in care and improving OR throughput.
The EGS-VP helps:
Resourcing and infrastructure optimization
Why this matters: The right infrastructure allows hospitals to apply best practices and implement evidence-based guidelines to deliver optimal care. Enhanced multidisciplinary coordination improves timeliness of care for patients.
Timely, quality care
Why this matters: Decreased length of stay and reduced complication rates increase patient satisfaction. Unnecessary delays, time in the emergency department, and days spent in the hospital are all shown to significantly decrease under the EGS care model.
Cost reduction and provider satisfaction
Why this matters: The EGS model provides a structure for enhanced efficiency of specialty surgical services and the increased productivity among elective surgeons.
Data and improvement
Why this matters: The EGS program provides a framework and accountability to make improvements across the surgical department stick. EGS data in ACS NSQIP gives hospitals the opportunity to benchmark performance and closely monitor results. This allows a foundation for continuous improvement processes.
Participating Hospitals
Find hospitals participating in the EGS Verification Program.
Hospitals and FacilitiesData Registry
The ACS NSQIP® EGS Module has been developed to bring hospitals the data they need to advance their QI journey.
Data RegistryQuality Programs
I Need Emergency Surgery—What Do I Do?
Having unplanned surgery can be a major life disruptor. Learn how to improve your treatment experience when faced with emergency general surgery.
Get the Latest News and Resources
Subscribe to our newsletter, Quality Verification Update, to receive program news and resources!