Chonnam National University Hospital Receives Top Rating in Surgical Antibiotic Use and Blood Transfusion Appropriateness Evaluation

Jeonnam National University Hospital exterior. Provided by Jeonnam National University Hospital

Chonnam National University Hospital (Director: Jung Shin) announced on the 22nd that it received the highest rating, Grade 1, for the 10th consecutive time in the “Appropriate Use of Prophylactic Antibiotics in Surgery” assessment by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA), and also received Grade 1 in the blood transfusion appropriateness assessment.

HIRA has been conducting the assessment of appropriate use of prophylactic antibiotics in surgery since 2007. The evaluation is carried out to prevent surgical site infections and promote the proper use of antibiotics by administering antibiotics that meet the criteria for a certain period during surgery. The assessment is based on the comprehensive results of 18 types of surgeries; hospitals scoring 98 points or above for each surgery are eligible for incentive payments, while those scoring below 30 points are subject to deductions.

This assessment targeted cases of hospitalization, surgery, and discharge that occurred from January to March of last year. It was evaluated based on indicators such as ▲timing of initial administration ▲selection of antibiotics ▲duration of administration. Chonnam National University Hospital received a comprehensive score of 98.5 points, higher than the average score of tertiary general hospitals (97.6 points), and earned additional points in 13 categories including craniotomy, colon surgery, and spinal surgery, receiving incentives totaling approximately 15.9 million KRW.

Chonnam National University Hospital also received Grade 1 in the blood transfusion appropriateness assessment.

The blood transfusion appropriateness assessment aims to maintain appropriate transfusions and ensure patient safety by managing blood use according to transfusion guidelines. This assessment was conducted over six months from March to August last year, targeting inpatients at hospitals and higher-level institutions, and consisted of four assessment indicators and four monitoring indicators.

The main assessment and monitoring indicators included ▲amount of transfusion ▲possession of a transfusion checklist ▲rate of unexpected antibody screening ▲transfusion rate based on pre-transfusion blood tests ▲transfusion rate for surgical patients ▲implementation rate of transfusion management, among others.

Chonnam National University Hospital received a comprehensive score of 95 points in this appropriateness assessment, significantly higher than the overall average (76.3 points), thereby proving its excellence as a leading hospital responsible for improving the quality of healthcare.

Director Jung Shin stated, “This assessment result shows that Chonnam National University Hospital is thoroughly creating a patient safety-centered hospital environment,” and added, “We will continue to do our best to improve the quality of healthcare.”