We just addressed this very issue today at a DPH meeting…. Verification is the process by which the qualifications of a trauma center are reviewed, and “certified” to be up to the requirements set forth by *** (usually the ACS COT VRC) at the level that your hospital strives to be verified at. The center can only be designated by your governing body – in our case the CT Department of Public Health – according to the state regulations or public health codes/laws/regulations. In our case, we use the ACS COT as our verifying agent, although the regulations do leave the loophole if the DPH chooses to verify in another manner; in fact, that might happen for Level IIIs and Level IVs due to the cost of the verification imposed by the ACS COT. Now, it is entirely possible for a center to be verified but not designated. However, in an attempt to be inclusive, our DPH has thus far decided to designate every center that achieves verification. One could debate the merits of this way of thinking ( as I have on many occasions) given the potential for system clutter and inefficiency re: manpower and resources, but I will leave that for another day. Hope that helps. Take care, Ron
Evaluation of the effect of trauma centers on mortality (NEJM 2006;354(4):366)
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