Digital Debut
ASCQC Annual Meeting Returns In Person
A Q&A with the organization’s director
INTERVIEWED BY SAHELY MUKERJI | AUGUST 2022
Kathy Wilson
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The ASC Quality Collaboration (ASCQC) held its seventh annual ASC Quality Conference in the last week of July in Franklin, Tennessee. Kathy Wilson, RN, executive director of ASCQC, discussed the meeting with ASC Focus. Below are excerpts from an interview.
Q: What is the mission of the ASCQC?
Kathy Wilson (KW): To advance patient safety and quality of care delivery in ambulatory surgery.
Q: What was the purpose of the ASCQC meeting that took place in July?
KW: The ASC Quality Conference has been an annual meeting in the past, but it has not been held since 2019. The meeting provides an opportunity for the regulatory agencies with whom we work to update us on their activities and to interact with members of the ASC Quality Collaboration. In addition, some of our members share patient safety and quality improvement initiatives being undertaken by their centers and/or management company. All of our meetings throughout the year are held via Zoom, so this year was a great opportunity to meet in person.
Q: Tell me about the ASCQC quality measurement tool that you are looking to develop.
KW: We are in the process of developing a simple tool completed via a questionnaire that will provide key information about an individual center’s quality and patient safety. We feel there is currently a need for information that payers, employers, patients and other stakeholders can easily access. In addition, we want to provide resources that are related to the topics included so that centers can continually strive for improvement.
Q: Why is it important for this group to meet with regulators and other government entities involved in measure development?
KW: For quality reporting to have meaning to the consumers of the information, there needs to be an open dialogue with the regulators so that they understand the ASC setting. Because we have open and regular communication, the measures that are developed are more apt to correlate with our environment and quality improvement initiatives. In addition, having regular meetings and establishing working relationships gives them a source of information and insight into the way that ASCs care for patients.
Q: What were the important takeaways from the meeting?
KW: Key takeaways include
- It is important for us to comment on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ proposed rule, as it is every year.
- ASC quality continues to be a priority, despite the current challenges faced as a result of the pandemic and the aftereffects.
- There are opportunities to have new organizations join the ASC Quality Collaboration, and we will all be involved in a renewed effort to recruit organizations to participate.
- We have a great opportunity with our new reporting program to provide information that is not currently readily available to stakeholders.
- Our data platform for benchmarking continues to improve and become more streamlined for the users, which provides valuable data for participating entities.
Q: Where does the ASCQC go from here?
KW: We will be revisiting our strategic plan over the next few years to encompass our new reporting program, market its availability, and support quality and safety improvement. Our focus is always on patient care and that is where we need to keep it. We will continue to support measure development and work with external partners in that effort.