May is Women’s Health Month and many organizations join the cause to empower women and girls to make their health a priority! The CDC encourages women to talk with their healthcare providers, focus on a well-balanced diet, get active, prioritize their mental health, and practice healthy behaviors. There are many resources available to help women feel empowered in these areas and a few of them are listed below.
The U.S. Health & Human Services Office on Women’s Health focuses on “translating scientific evidence into Action and Policy.” They “seek to empower women to protect their health and the health of those they love, by sharing the evidence and federal guidelines.”
Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery: A Beneficial Option
As women consider different options for their healthcare decisions, research and evidence-based practice improve the safety and efficacy of these options. In the realm of Gynecologic Surgery, the American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists (AAGL), works to promote minimally invasive gynecologic surgery as a beneficial option for women when they face the need for gynecologic surgery. They have created a patient outreach site, MIS (Minimally Invasive Surgery) for Women, to help women make informed decisions regarding their surgical needs. As a definition:
“Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) describes a group of surgical techniques that allow your surgeon to enter the abdomen through small incisions or through natural orifices. Surgery is then performed by threading small instruments through the incisions while the surgeon views the inside of the body on a video screen.”
MIS has been shown to provide a quicker recovery time, decreased pain and blood loss, and smaller incision scars. Depending on the approach, MIS may not involve an incision at all! Typically with MIS, women can resume their normal activities within 1-2 weeks instead of the more standard one month or more associated with recovery after larger, “open” incisions. MIS is also associated with decreased chances of infection among other complications.
While minimally invasive surgery is an option that can offer many health benefits, the ultimate goal of MIS for Women is to provide women with enough information that they feel empowered to make a well-informed decision about their healthcare. MIS for Women has a free Research Library available that includes information about multiple gynecologic issues as well as the minimally invasive treatment options to consider in treating these conditions.
AAGL Partners with SRC Centers of Excellence
Surgical Review Corporation (SRC) developed Center of Excellence (COE) accreditation programs to “recognize facilities and specific medical professionals who are committed to achieving defined standards of patient safety and care quality.” Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery joins multiple other specialties in pursuing the “COE model” of establishing excellence through a comprehensive, standardized quality program.
The Center of Excellence in Minimally Invasive Gynecology (COEMIG) promotes the AAGL’s goal of “serving women by advancing the safest and most efficacious diagnostic and therapeutic techniques that afford less invasive treatments for gynecologic conditions through integration of clinical practice, research, innovation, and dialogue.” Now that minimally invasive surgery is gaining more widespread acceptance, COEMIG creates a network of centers that are recognized as giving the highest quality of care in this area.
According to Dr. Steven F. Palter, who founded the COEMIG program, “Ultimately, COEMIG is about bringing patients and surgeons together, and improving outcomes.” This partnership and the continued recognition of centers that are achieving program accreditation gives women safer, better options when considering gynecologic surgery.
Registry Partners Supports COEMIG Accreditation
Registry Partners’ Surgical Services team can assist facilities and institutions nationwide with their COEMIG data collection efforts. We serve as a complete outsource solution or can augment the facility’s current data collection team to ensure high quality, timely, and accurate data collection and submission.
If you are interested in learning more about the various registry services Registry Partners offers, click here or email info@registrypartners.com.
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Resources:
CDC Celebrating Women’s Health Week!
MIS for Women: 4 Things to Consider before Surgery
COEMIG Program Benefits Summary
AAGL Promotes Centers of Excellence for Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery
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