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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August 2008 (Volume 8, Issue 8)	view entire issue

ASCs welcome clarification on medication reconciliation
The Joint Commission's revised medication reconciliation requirements have relieved many in the field, but what about the new Universal Protocol (UP) expectations? Even those who hail the changes as advancing patient safety worry they may slow patient flow. The accrediting organization released its new 2009 National Patient Safety Goals (NPSG) in June. Two of the more significant changes include the elements of performance (EP) for medication reconciliation and UP.

Ask simple questions to manage your data
Ambulatory surgery centers (ASC) struggling to keep up with increasing demands to collect, analyze, and present data should first take an inventory of what information they're already collecting and determine whether it ties into the organization's strategy. "The real secret is making sure every piece of data you collect, one, you know about, and two, it's directly tied into your strategy," says Ken Rohde, a senior consultant at the Greeley Company, a division of HCPro, Inc., in Marblehead, MA, and author of Making Your Data Work: Tools and Templates for Effective Analysis, published by HCPro.

Organized charts, documents spell success
Keeping organized charts and proper documentation is a major focus for facilities when the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) does an initial accreditation survey. Facilities need to know what to expect and be ready for an in-depth look at their reporting. "Surveyors are looking for detailed and organized charts that are consistent, dated, and timed," says Debra Strickland, administrator of Athena Urology Surgery Center in Athens, GA. "We constantly focused on documentation and keeping our charts up to date." This diligence paid off for the center when AAAHC surveyors showed up in January.

Ensure proper training for propofol use in ASCs
Propofol is used in many ambulatory surgery centers (ASC), especially for routine colonoscopies. It causes less nausea than conventional methods and wears off more quickly. But many aren't sure who should administer the high-risk drug, which has no reversal agent. Aetna, Inc., the third-largest insurance company in the United States, originally planned to cut coverage of anesthesia services used during routine endoscopies and colonoscopies, similar to actions taken by Humana and Wellpoint.

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

Beating CFCs to the punch

Surgical smoke raises safety alarms

OSHA citations are down, but fines carry weight

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

Timeouts need to include the entire surgical team

Teamwork helps prevent surgical fires in ASCs

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