HCPro.com: Ambulatory Quality and Compliance Insider

Whether you're complying with The Joint Commission's National Patient Safety Goals, meeting CMS requirements, or overcoming AAAHC survey challenges, maintaining highquality patient care is no small task. Every issue of Ambulatory Quality and Compliance Insider is packed with field-tested compliance tips you can implement right away and how-to advice from ambulatory experts across the country.

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June 2008 (Volume 8, Issue 6)	view entire issue

How to protect sleep apnea patients from complications
Ambulatory surgery centers (ASC) that want to keep sleep apnea patients safe-and prevent their schedules from running awry-should identify potential victims as soon as possible. "You would be amazed on a daily basis at how many people are wheeled into the operating room who have unrecognized obstructive sleep apnea [OSA]," says Gerald A. Maccioli, MD, FCCM, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) director for North Carolina, director of critical care medicine at Critical Health Systems of North Carolina's Raleigh Practice Center, and president of the American Society of Critical Care Anesthesiologists. "I continue to be surprised at how often we're the first physicians to tell someone they have that diagnosis."

Strategies for mastering the basics of benchmarking
Editor's note: The following is an excerpt from Benchmarking Basics: A Resource Guide for Healthcare Managers, by Cynthia Barnard, published by HCPro. One meaning of benchmark is "to measure consistently, with the same methodology." This traditional meaning is tremendously important today, and failure to recognize this is one of the great pitfalls in benchmarking. A second meaning of benchmark focuses on the reference point. It can be a verb, meaning "to compare to the best," or a noun, meaning "to be the best." For example, many people may agree that The Ritz Hotel is the pinnacle of service, the benchmark to which other services may be compared.

Ambulatory surgery center strides through seamless survey
Not every ambulatory surgery center (ASC) works to be accredited, and when staff members decide to take the plunge into accreditation, they must open themselves up to the possibility of receiving poor marks during their survey. However, New Gulf Coast Surgery in Ocean Springs, MS, recently underwent a survey and received what every ASC hopes for: a survey free of problems and recommendations for improvement. The key, says Donna Griggs, RN, BSN, chief nursing officer and administrator at New Gulf Coast Surgery, is a dedicated team of employees.

Nine healthcare professionals detail challenges
ASCs struggle with data collection, quality assurance, documentation Briefings on Ambulatory Accreditation queried nine healthcare professionals to ask them what their biggest accreditation challenges were and why. Their e-mailed responses are as follows: Ongoing education is a must for compliance I find that my biggest accreditation challenge is the ongoing education of the standards and requirements for accreditation not only for a facility to achieve a successful survey, but also to ensure patient safety and best practices within the organization.

Prevention, not punishment, key to patient safety
Good news for hospitals scrambling to meet The Joint Commission's new culture of safety standard, which takes effect in January 2009: The government is here to help. No really. It truly is. And the tools and guidance are free. The Joint Commission's (formerly JCAHO) standard LD.3.10 calls on hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers (ASC) to assess and set up a culture of safety and quality. But if hospitals stop at assessment and don't make meaningful changes, they may be doing more harm than good. "It's really important for an organization to use the information from the assessment to take action," says James Battles, PhD,

Other recently-published articles from Ambulatory Quality and Compliance Insider:

Cover all the bases with annual safety training

Weigh safety risks when protecting electronic records

OSHA citations are down, but fines carry weight

Beating CFCs to the punch

Surgical smoke raises safety alarms

Preparing for the challenges of Medicare fee changes

Bone up on respiratory hygiene, cough etiquette to prevent spread of infection

Pathology -project, diabetes program win QI awards

AAAHC’s Chapter 5 proposal worries some facilities

Vigilance needed on reproductive hazards in healthcare

Tackle disruptive clinician behavior early and often

How to conduct an effective root cause analysis

Flash sterilization stirs up debate in ASCs

Save time, money by asking doctors’ offices for info

Universal Protocol: Q&A with Peter B. Angood

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