Importance of Patient Safety in the ASC

Hesitation and worry are common reactions for individuals anticipating surgical care, whether elective or nonelective. The growth and proven effectiveness of care in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) is making strides toward easing that anxiety for patients, even as it returns positive results for providers, management companies, and payors. ASCs offer a more convenient and cost-effective alternative to traditional hospital settings, and they have become popular choices for both surgeons and patients.

As these factors drive demand for services in ASCs, it is essential—to the industry as a whole, as well as to individual centers—that patient safety is the priority. A multifaceted approach to ensuring optimal care begins with a comprehensive understanding of the risks associated with each procedure and includes ongoing education, training, and communication among staff members.

One of the most significant patient safety concerns in the ASC setting is infection control. The reputational excellence of ASCs overall for low infection rates is critical to ongoing success as ASCs seek to perform increasingly complex procedures. Strict protocols to prevent the spread of infection encompass environmental cleaning and disinfection, instrument disinfection and sterilization, hand hygiene, and appropriate use of personal protective equipment (PPE).

Another patient safety focus is medication safety. ASCs must ensure that medications are administered safely and correctly to prevent adverse drug events. Proper documentation and communication between healthcare providers are critical to the prevention of medication errors.

Minimizing Risk

Accreditation with Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC) means minimizing these risks (and others) while maximizing value. The ACHC ASC Accreditation program is a leading authority in promoting patient safety.

ACHC Accreditation provides ASCs with a framework for continuous quality improvement. For our accredited organizations, learning to identify and minimize risk becomes an intuitive component of quality improvement and not an added burden.

Building Credibility

ACHC Accreditation affords your organization credibility and a highly visible declaration of your continued commitment to excellence. Building a collaborative relationship and taking an educational approach, ACHC provides outpatient surgery centers an opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to quality and safety through rigorous third-party evaluation.

ACHC Accreditation builds internal credibility, too, showing staff and surgeons that the ASC is committed to focusing on education and best practice to ensure quality.

CMS Deeming Authority and ISO 9001:2015 Certification

ACHC has held Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) deeming authority for ASCs since 2003. Our requirements for providing same-day surgical, diagnostic, and preventive procedures come from standards founded on CMS Conditions for Coverage. ACHC has crafted a smooth experience, and our expert Surveyors take a helpful, real-world approach to any improvements that may be needed.

Additionally, ACHC has built accountability for our own program delivery by voluntarily seeking and successfully attaining ISO 9001:2015 certification, which is a recognition that involves annual review and evaluation of our internal processes.

Long-Standing Accreditor

Our experience developing standards and reviewing procedural healthcare organizations for quality of care and safety predates the founding of CMS. This expertise comes from the nation’s first healthcare accreditation program; we have been reviewing healthcare settings since 1945.

Distinctive, Customized Approach

ACHC strives to understand your organization as a distinct entity so that we can help you achieve your highest potential for excellence. Through our on-site survey process, ACHC accreditation helps ASCs identify areas for improvement and implement evidence-based best practices to improve patient outcomes. Our Surveyors are experts with experience in surgery centers, so they evaluate your facility from a meaningful context. Their training promotes flexibility and collaboration without compromising the integrity of the survey for you and your organization.

Before and after the survey, ACHC’s commitment to customer service is unparalleled. We seek continuous feedback about your accreditation experience. Our accredited organizations report a positive experience with ACHC at a rate of 98%. Similarly, 98% report that they would recommend ACHC to their colleagues.

How does ACHC achieve this level of satisfaction? It starts from a dedicated Quality Department that continuously monitors key indicators on the quality and timeliness of our response to our organizations. Immediate follow-up is initiated for any customer who reports a less-than-ideal experience. We put customer experience at the center of our process.

Realistic and Relevant

We provide clear standards with published criteria for assessing compliance that you and your staff can understand and act on. The value in becoming an ACHC-accredited ASC is realized when your leadership and staff share a holistic understanding of the process. We ensure that you have the resources and guidance to learn, as well as a complete understanding of what the standards are and why they matter.

ACHC recognizes that accreditation is just one of many priorities within your ASC. That’s why we specifically set out to make the process easy for you by offering complimentary pre-survey calls with our clinical experts. This is an opportunity to review your questions and, importantly, ensure that you are set up for success when survey day arrives.

We include published criteria for assessing compliance and a dedicated Account Advisor to help you along the way.

Fast-Tracking Your Survey

Time is money for an ASC seeking initial accreditation, and ACHC’s TIME solution helps to accelerate your application toward the final decision.

If you choose the TIME program, you can be sure that you will be surveyed as quickly as possible, and each milestone under ACHC’s control will be seen as the outer limit of the accreditation timeline.

Specialty Certification Options

As more procedures are approved and accepted for outpatient settings, ASCs must drive excellence in their specialty services as well as their overall organizations. Total joint arthroplasty is one example. To help your ASC demonstrate quality and negotiate with payors, ACHC offers certification options for your specialty orthopedic program. ACHC’s Advanced Joint Replacement Certification with Distinction is recognized by Blue Cross Blue Shield.

As you can see, seeking accreditation with ACHC is an investment that does more than check a box; it returns value. In addition to promoting the highest possible level of care for patients, ACHC Accreditation helps ASCs prioritize patient safety, comply with regulations, improve quality, and gain a competitive advantage, all while achieving excellence in outcomes and high patient satisfaction.