This document outlines a quality improvement project at Texas Health Presbyterian Dallas hospital to increase compliance with Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP) venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis measures. The project team aims to achieve top decile compliance by December 2012. Opportunities for improvement were identified through audits showing missed opportunities by unit and surgery type. Changes implemented include education, checklists, order sets and meetings. Monitoring shows checklist compliance increasing from less than 10% to over 90%. Ongoing efforts include physician and nurse education and concurrent review to sustain gains.