EFFECTIVENESS OF HOSPITAL TISSUE COMMITTEE IN RAISING SURGICAL STANDARDS

Almost every hospital with an active surgical service has a tissue committee or a surgical control committee. In some institutions, such a committee exists in name only; in others, it is convened by the administrator or chief of surgery only when a flagrantly mishandled case requires review. In this hospital, which has a capacity of 240 beds, the tissue committee has, on the contrary, been an actively functioning group for three years. Since the results have been so gratifying, it is possible that other general hospital surgical services may benefit from a report of this experience. In an attempt to raise surgical standards, it was decided to review and document the surgery performed. In this way, detailed reports would be available for inspection teams of the American Medical Association and the American College of Surgeons. The information thus procured could also serve as a factual basis on which to recommend