Accreditation Newsletters

Ambulatory Quality and Compliance Insider Briefings on The Joint Commission

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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Ambulatory Quality and Compliance Insider

Issue 12, December 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Highlights of the AAAHC 2005 core chapters' standard revisions

  The AAAHC in mid-November released its standards revisions for 2005 with changes in several...

• Plan ahead for weather-related emergencies, disasters at your ASC

  Winter, for some regions of the country, means blizzards, power outages, and fires. For ambulatory...

• Make patient satisfaction survey scores work for your PI projects

  Evergreen Surgery Center, LLC (ESC), in Kirkland, WA, dazzled a JCAHO surveyor with the way it let...

• AAAHC survey helps center create useful QI studies

  Editor's note: The AAAHC is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. In honor of this, BOAA is...

• Obtain data from National Practitioner Data Bank

  Editor's note: The following is the first in a new BOAA series called "AAAHC standard of the...

Issue 11, November 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Physician leaders, education can foster correct use of antibiotics

  Antibiotics are supposed to cure patients, but in many cases they cause more pains. Twenty...

• JCAHO survey targets PI projects and Universal Protocol

  Surveyors looked for adherence to the JCAHO's Universal Protocol by checking records and charts on...

• Follow seven steps for continuous improvement

  Continuous process improvement is vital to the success of any organization, and ambulatory surgery...

• Don't let OR safety go up in smoke

  Surely you've heard of "big tent" politics, but how about big tent fire safety? Surgical staff at a...

Issue 10, October 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Four tips to help your facility create maintain quality summary lists

  Keeping up-to-date summary lists is a challenging part of proper medical record documentation...

• United in tackling patient safety

  A team approach to patient safety impressed surveyors during one ambulatory surgery center's (ASC...

Issue 9, September 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Achieving goals the JCAHO way

  If your JCAHO-accredited ambulatory surgery center (ASC) is struggling to find effective ways to...

• Multispecialty passes AAAHC survey with flying colors

  Outpatient Surgery Center of Cedar Rapids, IA, opened its doors September 11, 2001, as a department...

• Troubleshoot when patients aren't happy with service

  In addition to striving for patient satisfaction, ambulatory surgery centers (ASC) must deal with...

• Document problem lists to ensure patient safety

  A Massachusetts ambulatory facility learned first-hand that proper documentation is critical to...

Issue 8, August 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Smooth sailing at first AAAHC survey

  The Kelsey-Seybold Clinic in Houston went through its first AAAHC survey in December 2003. With 21...

• How to educate staff about the Universal Protocol

  Now that the JCAHO's Universal Protocol has taken effect, it's critical that you continue to...

• JCAHO 2005 prepublication standards stress consistency across all settings

  In June, the JCAHO released its 2005 prepublication infection control (IC) standards for...

• ASC problem areas: The JCAHO lists top types of sentinel events reported

  Of the top 20 occurring sentinel events listed on the JCAHO's Web site, www.jcaho.org, healthcare...

Issue 7, July 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Building an ambulatory surgery center requires vision, dedication

  Editor's note: The following is the first of an occasional series on building an ambulatory surgery...

• Tell the JCAHO your concerns about its proposed certification program

  Is your facility uncertain about the JCAHO's plans to create a new certification program for...

• Staff preparation helped Oregon Surgery Center pass tough AAAHC survey

  When Oregon Surgery Center (ORSC) in Roseburg opened in 2003, it already had AAAHC accreditation...

Issue 6, June 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• How to keep track of credentialing standards at your physician office

  Nita Bonnell, a credentialing coordinator, worked with a general surgeon and an oral and...

• Get specific: How to help patients understand their treatment

  When providing education about medications and other treatments, make it specific to each patient...

• Online tool makes Warfarin administration easier

  Monitoring patients on Warfarin-an anticoagulant also known as coumadin-is challenging because so...

• First-time AAAHC survey helps office-based surgery center update policies

  The owner of Ocean State Endoscopy Center, an office-based surgery center, toyed with the idea of...

Issue 5, May 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• What you need to know about the proposed 2005 Patient Safety Goals

  New National Patient Safety Goals are looming on the horizon for ambulatory centers, including...

• Cross training nurses will make your ASC efficient, cost-effective

  One way to improve overall efficiency in your ambulatory surgery center (ASC) is to cross-train...

• Credentialing, patient tracers are survey highlights

  Memorial Same Day Surgery Center was one of the first ambulatory centers surveyed under the JCAHO's...

• Four ways to reduce your risk of malpractice claims

  Many states are experiencing a malpractice crisis, with doctors leaving the state or retiring early...

• Think you're all set with HIPAA?

  Before you disband your Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA...

Issue 4, April 1, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Use phone calls and letters to track patient care, improve reliability

  Constant developments with new drugs and technology can make it hard for physicians to stay on the...

• Network linking physicians and pharmacists saves time and reduces errors, expert

  Linking physicians and pharmacists electronically is a great way to reduce medication errors...

• Improve HIPAA compliance with better education

  There are four critical elements of adult learning, says Lise Roberts, vice president of HCCS...

• JCAHO surveyors could focus on EC compliance

  Expect JCAHO surveyors to delve into Environment of Care (EC) issues as part of the new...

Issue 3, March 10, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Approach bloodborne pathogens, hazardous chemicals with caution

  Ambulatory center staff are often exposed to hazardous materials and situations that have the...

• Electronic prescriptions can boost patient safety, reduce Rx errors

  Illegible handwriting on prescriptions can lead to patients receiving the wrong medication or the...

• New Hampshire facility kills two birds with one stone through AAAHC survey

  After 10 years of having only Medicare certification, the Bedford (NH) Ambulatory Surgical Center...

• Educational materials: Well read or just rubbish?

  Chances are your organization uses brochures or handouts for at least part of your patient-safety...

Issue 2, February 10, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Boost compliance: Make staff part of the solution for wrong-site surgery

  Although organizations have until July 1 to comply with the JCAHO's universal protocol to prevent...

• Tracer pilot for Naval Health Care hits snags, but is still effective

  When staff at Naval Health Care New England, head quartered in Newport, RI, first heard that the...

• Centering on success: Ten tips to help your organization comply with the Nationa

  Editor's note: These tips were excerpted from the JCAHO 2003 and 2004 National Patient Safety...

Issue 1, January 7, 2004 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• ASCs stand to lose $3.1 billion through Medicare reform legislation

  Ambulatory surgery centers (ASC) will have to hold down the fort with an estimated $3.1 billion...

• WI system creates safety tool kits

  When the Institute of Medicine released its 1999 report on medication errors, titled "To Err is...