Surgical Society Meeting to Focus on Patient Safety

Newswise — Patient Safety will be the focus of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons’ 41st Annual Meeting to be held in Tampa, Fla., from Jan. 24-26, 2005.

“Our mission is to help cardiothoracic surgeons serve patients better,” says Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) President Peter C. Pairolero, MD. “Our whole focus is the patient. That makes patient safety job 1.”

Highlights of the upcoming STS 41st Annual Meeting include the Thomas B. Ferguson Lecture, given this year by James P. Bagian, MD, who has extensive experience in the fields of human factors, aviation, and patient safety. Dr. Bagian is a former NASA astronaut who flew on two Space Shuttle missions. In 1998, he was chosen as the first Director of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ National Center for Patient Safety. Dr. Bagian will speak Tuesday morning on “Patient Safety: A Systems Approach.” He will also conduct a special breakfast session on “Implementation of Patient Safety Initiatives on a Local Level.”

On Sunday there will also be a patient-safety focused Town Hall Meeting, titled “The Patient Safety Movement: What Does it Have to Do with the Practicing Surgeon and What Should the Practicing Surgeons have to do with it?” This feature session will address making patient safety part of cardiothoracic surgery training and practice. It will also include guidance on how to improve safety, as well as an update on patient safety legislation and its liability implications.

In addition, a groundbreaking program, National Disaster Life Support: The Role for Cardiothoracic Surgeons, will be held on Monday evening and will prepare surgeons to understand the disaster paradigm in order to meet patients’ emergency medical needs better.

“Patient safety is not just some current hot topic,” says Thoralf M. Sundt, MD, Chair of STS’s Workforce on Patient, Advocacy, Communications, and Patient Safety. “It’s a way of life for us.”

The STS Annual Meeting is a pre-eminent educational event for the cardiothoracic community. Now in its 41st year, the STS 2005 Annual Meeting &Exhibition will feature more than 30 hours of general and scientific information and host more than 100 scientific and technical exhibits. Details about the 41st Annual Meeting can be found at http://www.sts.org.

The Society of Thoracic Surgeons is a not-for-profit educational organization representing more than 4,800 surgeons worldwide who provide heart, lung, esophageal, and other surgical procedures for the chest. Founded in 1964, the STS is dedicated to saving and enhancing the lives of the patients it serves.