David Hoyt, MD, FACS, Describes the 4 Pillars of ACS' Quality Improvement Programs

David Hoyt, MD, FACS, executive director, American College of Surgeons (ACS), says the 4 pillars are based on 100 years of setting standards for healthcare. He adds that ACS has programs in trauma, bariatric surgery, breast surgery, and the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP).

“What we’ve learned from that, is really the 4 standards or the 4 pillars of being effective,” he says.

Dr Hoyt says that first you set standards—which is done through consensus or evidence. Second, you build out the infrastructure that’s required to achieve those standards. The third pillar is to commit to measuring performance against those standards, and remain accountable to those measurements. The final pillar is agreeing to a peer review against those standards.