Journal of the American College of Surgeons
-
Annually, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, or both, develop in the first year after injury in more than 400,000 adults treated in US trauma centers (≥20%). Yet, few trauma centers monitor and address mental health recovery, and there is limited evaluation and high structural variability across existing programs. More research is needed to guide efforts to establish such programs and to inform national standards and recommendations. ⋯ This work demonstrates the feasibility of an evidence-based, technology-enhanced, stepped-care intervention to address the mental health needs of trauma center patients. Strategies to reach a higher percentage of patients in follow-up are needed. We recommend trauma centers test and adopt broad-based approaches to ensure optimal long-term patient outcomes.
-
Although endoscopy is recommended at 1 year after colorectal cancer (CRC) resection to detect locally recurrent CRC, earlier work at our Veterans Affairs (VA) facility demonstrated that 35% of patients achieve this metric. ⋯ Implementation of a virtual surveillance clinic with standardized processes was associated with increased guideline-concordant endoscopic surveillance after CRC resection.
-
Washington was the first US state to have a patient test positive for COVID-19. Before this, our children's hospital proactively implemented an incident command structure that allowed for collaborative creation of safety measures, policies, and procedures for patients, families, staff, and providers. ⋯ Please note that the contents of this manuscript are shared in the interest of providing collaborative information and are under continuous development as our regional situation changes. We recognize the limitations of this commentary and do not suggest that our approaches represent validated best practices.