So why should we collect it?
For the same reason you should still be using a safe surgical checklist, even though you no longer need to report on its usage under the ASCQR Program. It is important information for the facility to have, to be able to address issues as they arise and benchmark against other facilities.
If I choose to continue reporting, where can I do that?
As with many other data points that facilities are collecting on their own that are not required by state or federal government, ASCs can choose to continue collecting through excel spreadsheets, their electronic health records or paper records. If you want to report this information to benchmark against other facilities, there are a couple of options.
Benchmarking programs
If you participate in ASCA’s Clinical & Operational Benchmarking Survey, you will continue to collect and report on these adverse events in order to provide your ASC data in which to use for benchmarking. Beginning January 1, 2019, ASCA has updated its quality section of the Clinical & Operational Benchmarking Survey to include three tabs—Suspended by Medicare, Reported to Medicare, and Not Reported to Medicare—to provide your ASC with even more information about adverse events that were suspended by Medicare.
For ASC-1 and ASC-2, there are nine additional “drilled down” questions added to each of these questions. The “drilled down” questions will ask the area of the ASC in which the fall/burn occurred, the impact of the fall/burn on the patient, and the intervention taken by the ASC for the fall/burn.
The facility will indicate whether the fall/burn occurred in the preop area, intra-op area or postop area. For each of the areas, there will be an option for the facility to identify if there was no impact to the patient (interventions: no monitoring, no actions taken, no medications administered, no dressing applied, etc.), minimal impact (interventions: medication administered, dressing applied, etc.) or major impact (interventions: transfer to hospital for significant loss of blood, fracture, etc.).
This will provide more valuable information as to the harm caused to the patient and will allow ASCs to better benchmark their facility against other facilities and determine the progress made at that facility over time.
Other benchmarking programs, such as those run by state associations or other specialty organizations, might also include the collection of this data.