Improving surgical wound classification--why it matters.

Surgical wound classification is an important predictor of the risk of postoperative surgical site infections. Wound classification also is used to analyze clinical, economic, and educational outcomes in national reports on quality. As integral members of the health care team, nurses and physicians need to ensure that their data are correct, consistent, and reliable. This article delineates how one institution developed a multifaceted education program that resulted in a 26% improvement in the rate of correctly classified wounds. The education program provided regular feedback of results that helped identify opportunities for improvement on a widespread level.