Menu We are the industry leader in… OR DATA & RESEARCH SpecialtyCare is the leader in data collection and research in the operating room. We developed a clinical database called SCOPE, the SpecialtyCare Operative Procedural Registry™, the largest multi-institutional database of its kind to identify trends and make surgery safer. LEARN MORE 1,100+ Hopsitals & Health Systems 13,500+ Supported Physicians 400,000+ Annual Cases Data and Research SpecialtyCare continues to be an industry leader in data and research. Whether it’s perfusion, intraoperative neuromonitoring, deep brain stimulation or another field, our clinicians are teamed with surgeons in thousands of hospitals across the United States. We’re able to collect research on techniques that typically aren’t known in remote medical facilities or by other providers that may have a limited research range. SpecialtyCare also has a secret weapon in data collection. We developed a clinical database called SCOPE, the SpecialtyCare Operative Procedural Registry, the largest multi-institutional database of its kind. With nearly 1,500 clinicians supporting over 400,000 procedures every year, the amount of data we have the ability to collect is tremendous and serves a number of purposes. We collect data from every case, from every service line, to identify healthcare to continue to fine tune best practices across the country, set benchmarks, and lead the industry in OR innovation. Data and research are critical to improving patient outcomes, increasing OR efficiency, and minimize costs to hospitals. Our clinicians benefit from this rich data to improve their skills in the OR to better serve their patients. The Members of our medical office analyze case data and share the scientific findings to our clinical professionals so that the evidence-based trends and best practices can be shared with surgeons and OR teams across the country. Our clinicians benefit from this rich data to improve their skills in the OR to better serve their patients. Sharing Data and Research with Peers We are very fortunate at SpecialtyCare to have a leadership team that is highly regarded in their respective service lines. Their research is published in a number of peer-reviewed scientific journals, such as The Journal of ExtraCorporeal Technology, Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine, and PLOS One. Their research in the areas of IONM and perfusion have helped advance the level of care in cardiac surgery and spinal procedures. SpecialtyCare is also represented at major conferences across the country, such as the AmSECT-AATS conference, where our leaders share data and research findings with other thought leaders in the healthcare industry. Perfusion Data and Research Data within the perfusion field continues to give us important insights. For example, we’ve recently learned that there are unintended consequences to over-reducing cardiopulmonary bypass circuit prime volume. Research has shown that reducing the volume too much can actually increase blood transfusions, as opposed to the current trend of decreasing prime volume in the heart-lung machine to avoid transfusions during surgery. Red blood cell transfusions may save lives when used efficiently, but these same transfusions are also associated with patient complications. This is extremely important because patient care is our first priority. SpecialtyCare has also released findings on goal-directed therapy for the use of concentrated antithrombin for heparin resistance during cardiac surgery. The maintenance of anticoagulation in patients undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass is dependent upon a number of factors, including plasma heparin concentration and adequate circulating antithrombin (AT) levels. Subadequate anticoagulation increases the risk of thrombosis and jeopardizes vascular and circuit integrity. Our study was designed to evaluate a goal-directed approach for the administration of concentrated AT in cardiac surgery patients who were resistant to heparin, and we found that utilization of a goal-directed algorithm is safe and effective for these patients. MORE PERFUSION DATA Listen to Checking the Vitals In this podcast we dive deep into the healthcare space, from the people that dedicate their lives to patient care to the companies improving patient outcomes through innovation. From well-respected surgeons and thought leaders to those on the front lines of healthcare, we’ll bring you conversations with those making a difference both in the OR and beyond. Through in-depth interviews with nurses, sterile processing technicians, clinical managers, and even healthcare technology companies and startups, we’ll discuss what’s on the horizon in the industry in regards to careers, technology, and innovation. SUBSCRIBE HERE IONM Data and Research We are on the cutting edge of IONM research. For example, we recently discovered there is a link between IONM and lower opioid use in recovery for spinal surgery. In a study of over 8,400 patients, cervical spine patients who had surgeries that included IONM were much less likely to be prescribed opiates within the year following surgery compared to patients that did not have IONM included in their surgery. This same study also determined there was a reduction on the number of readmissions post-surgery when IONM was used. This outcome was also confirmed by another study that was presented by the North American Spine Society (NASS) in 2016 that directly linked a lower number of post-operative injuries in patients that had neuromonitoring during their surgery. This was a great scientific find within the context of the country’s ongoing opioid crisis. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has made opioid misuse of the United States’ top public health challenges. Any changes to medical practices that reduce demand on opioids can have positive health benefits for the industry over all. In addition, We’d also invite you to take a look at some of the IONM research across our site: New Research on Alerts and Postoperative Deficits from the 2017 ACNS Annual Meeting Neuromonitoring during Surgical Treatment of Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS) Utilization of Multimodality Monitoring during Cerebrovascular Procedures Neurologic Outcome Following Signal Change in Spine Surgery (NASS 2016 Best Paper) Spine Surgery Research: Alerts, Intraoperative Resolution, and Post-Op Deficits MORE IONM DATA WORK WITH SPECIALTYCARE VIEW OUR JOBS DBS Data and Research What SpecialtyCare has learned is that DBS neurophysiology produces results. The anatomical targets used for DBS treatment are poorly visualized in MRI images, and the location can shift after the craniotomy due to pneumocephalus and CSF loss. Microlectrode recording (also known as MER) and stimulation mapping are performed intraoperatively to ensure positive identification of DBS targets and account for anatomical variability prior to implanting the permanent lead. Deep brain stimulation neurophysiology differs from standard neuromonitoring because it requires specialized equipment and highly experienced staff who can provide results directly to the neurosurgeon in real time. The success of DBS therapy depends on accurate placement of the DBS lead, which allows maximum effect and battery life with minimum side effects. To ensure the degree of accuracy needed to achieve the best results, we provide PhD neurophysiologists who have extensive experience in microelectrode and stimulation mapping techniques. MORE DBS DATA ECMO Data & Research Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation use increased by 433 percent in adults, from 2006-2011 and SpecialtyCare is responding to this need by implementing a training program to increase the pool of associates available for this service. As with our other service lines, data from these cases will be entered into our SCOPE™ database and our medical team will analyze results to improve patient care. MORE ECMO DATA Neurodiagnostic Data & Research Because our clinicians support 375,000 procedures each year, SpecialtyCare is able to gather data on new techniques in cerebral hemodynamic monitoring and diagnostic services, including transcranial doppler ultrasound, carotid duplex ultrasound, and electroencephalography (EEG). MORE NEURODIAGNOSTIC DATA Sterile Processing Data & Research If a hospital’s Sterile Processing Department isn’t functioning at a high level, patients can acquire infections from instruments that have not been properly cleaned, disinfected, or sterilized. Surgical Site Infections (SSIs), which account for a significant portion of all healthcare-acquired infections (HAIs), can affect the quality of patient outcomes and even result in death. Statistics overwhelmingly confirm that SSIs can have serious consequences for a hospital and its patients. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 1.7 million HAIs occur in U.S. hospitals each year, resulting in an estimated $20 billion in healthcare costs and 99,000 deaths. MORE STERILE PROCESSING DATA Autotransfusion Data & Research SpecialtyCare’s most recent research, utilizing data from SpecialtyCare Operative Procedural Registry (SCOPE™) includes gender-based differences that influence transfusion rates. Given the costly nature of blood transfusions, the rates of infection, and length of hospital stay, more studies should be conducted on the impact of gender on transfusion practice in cardiac surgery. Our research also has given us useful information on the use of ultrafiltration during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), and the effectiveness of acute normovolemic hemodilution and autologous priming in the operating room. MORE AUTOTRANSFUSION DATA Surgical Assist Data & Research The surgical assist team is vital to the flow of the OR and can make or break the amount of downtime that occurs during surgery. SpecialtyCare’s surgical assistants provide more than high-quality clinical skills to ensure the best patient outcomes—we instill confidence by providing surgeons with reliable, assured support when it matters most. Data coming soon. MORE SURGICAL ASSIST DATA MISS Data & Research Our annual minimally invasive surgical support caseload is at 160,000 offering us an opportunity to track a large number of surgery start times and their duration so we can ensure our MISS team is eliminating as much downtime as possible. More data coming soon. MORE MISS DATA PBM Data & Research Customers using our unique Patient Blood Management (PBM) program have seen a reduction in blood-related costs, fewer readmissions, and reduced length of stay. SpecialtyCare received the 2017 Delaware Valley Patient Safety & Quality Award from The Health Care Improvement Foundation for our submission, “Implementation of a Patient Blood Management Program,” which outlines the patient blood management (PBM) strategy for quality improvement at Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals (TJUH). In two years, there were 12,654 fewer blood component units transfused, a 22 percent reduction in red blood cell (RBC) transfusions, a 28 percent reduction in blood product spending, a 277 percent overall return on investment, and a total savings of $4 million. MORE PBM ASSIST DATA OR Efficiency In 2017, SpecialtyCare launched OptimizeOR, a user-friendly decision support and analytics system that helps hospitals improve on operative performance. OptimizeOR is a data-driven application that allows hospital leaders to optimize their staff as well as standardize supplies and implant use across surgeons. Learn more about OptimzeOR. MORE ON OR EFFICIENCY LOOKING FOR A PERFUSION SCHOOL? FIND ONE NEWS FROM THE OPERATING ROOM GREGORY AGOSTON FEATURED IN NOVEMBER HPN EDITION MORE FROM SPECIALTYCARE MANAGING STRESS REACTIONS WITH SELF-CARE STRATEGIES MORE FROM SPECIALTYCARE LOAD MORE COMPLIANCE & PRIVACY Notice of Privacy Practices Marketing Code of Ethics Website Privacy Compliance Vendor Code of Conduct Joint Commission Accredited and certified by The Joint Commission – evidence of our commitment to a higher standard of service and care. Members of the public and the SpecialtyCare team may contact The Joint Commission’s Office of Quality Monitoring to report any concerns about the quality and safety of patient care by calling 800.994.6610 or emailing complaint@jointcommission.org. Compliance & Privacy Notice of Privacy Practices Marketing Code of Ethics Website Privacy Compliance Vendor Code of Conduct SpecialtyCare complies with applicable Federal civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex. 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