Verification, Review, and Consultation (VRC) for Trauma Centers

Daniel R. Margulies, MD, FACS Professor of Surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in LA and the Chair of the Verification Review Committee of the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma presents on Trauma Center Verification: Improving Outcomes at the 10th Annual Southwest Trauma & Acute Care Symposium. He discusses the essential elements of attaining and sustaining trauma center verification, the role of staff across the continuum of care in attaining and sustaining trauma center requirements, and the key benefits of being a trauma center. Complications are more likely in non-ACS trauma centers according to a study published in 2017. There are about 342 criterion for Level I and II adult trauma centers. The ACS verification process is considered by many to be the highest attainable standard by a trauma center and once it is attained, it is valid for three years. After those three years, recertification is required. There are ten essential reasons to be part of trauma center verification. They are a hospital-wide strategic initiatives, shared responsibility, physician requirements, nurse requirements, prehospital trauma care, evidenced based care- trauma registry, injury prevention, outreach and education, patient safety and quality, and because it’s the right thing to do.