Mundelein, Ill. - Medline Industries Inc, the nation's largest privately held manufacturer and distributor of medical supplies joined the Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) today to announce increased outreach to consumers in addition to ongoing work with hospitals and other healthcare providers to make surgery safer across the country. Medline is providing key support and resources toward this effort to help ensure that surgical care is improving nationwide. More than 40 million operations are performed in the United States each year, many of them complicated by infection, blood clots, and heart problems, among other adverse events. These complications take a toll not only on the patients, but also on the overall cost of health care. A significant percentage of these complications are preventable, however, and it is the goal of the SCIP initiative to use evidence-based measures to reduce preventable surgical complications nationwide by 25 percent by 2010. "As a major manufacturer and distributor of medical supplies, we are proud and feel it is part of our responsibility to support SCIP in its effort to combine the expertise of key healthcare organizations and agencies across the country and now is taking steps to include patients and other consumers in improving the care they receive," said Medline President Andy Mills "This is a unique approach that can make a profound difference in the quality of surgery patients can expect to receive." As part of Medline's commitment to help this important effort, the company publishes The OR Connections. A magazine dedicated to improving patient safety and patient care. Medline distributes the publication at no cost to more than 30 thousand perioperative nurses and professionals three times throughout the year. SCIP is one of the first national quality improvement initiatives to unite hospital, physician and nursing organizations; the federal government; the organization that accredits hospitals; private sector experts; and now consumer advocacy groups in far-reaching surgical quality improvement. The SCIP Partnership has developed a tip sheet specifically designed to spur consumer involvement. The tip sheet, "Steps to Safer Surgery," provides specific questions patients can ask their physicians and nurses before surgery to ensure they are receiving care that will reduce their risk of having complications. The tip sheet is available online at http://www.ofmq.com/qiosc_scip.html along with other information about SCIP. View Final Consumer Tips Here