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, 2006 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• ASCs face tough debate over reprocessed medical devices

  Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the reprocessing of medical devices...

• OPPS rule brings expected cuts, revisions for ASCs

  The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) last month issued its Final Rule for the 2007...

• Get a waiver for CLIA-waived laboratory tests

  Editor's note: The AAAHC standard of the month is a monthly series offered in BOAA. Our AAAHC...

• CDC panel issues guidelines for managing superbugs

  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released new guidelines detailing...

Issue 11, November 1, 2006 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• AAAHC fine-tunes 2007 accreditation standards

  In September, the AAAHC released its proposed revisions to its accreditation standards on...

• Consult LSC or state for building requirements

  Editor's note: The AAAHC standard of the month is a series offered in BOAA. Our AAAHC experts...

• Get back to the basics with fall prevention measures

  There are certain characteristics of your facility that may increase the likelihood of a patient...

• Know fire safety risks when doing renovations

  In an industry in which renovations are constant and there is a spate of new construction, it comes...

Issue 10, October 1, 2006 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• The JCAHO changes NPSG scoring structure for 2007

  If your facility has struggled to achieve 100% compliance with the JCAHO's National Patient Safety...

• Survey helps bolster performance improvement program

  When two stern-looking AAAHC surveyors walked into the Surgery Center of Oak Ridge (TN), Alana...

• Tips to handle look-alike/sound-alike drug challenges

  With so many pharmaceuticals available today, it is difficult for any ambulatory surgery center to...

• Follow these seven steps to find success with your annual PPR

  Beginning January 1, ambulatory care facilities were required to perform an annual Periodic...

• Determine whether your facility provides urgent care

  Editor's note: The AAAHC standard of the month is a series offered in BOAA. Our AAAHC experts...

Issue 9, September 1, 2006 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Tips to overcome two credentialing challenges

  Experts offer advice on references, recredentialing low-volume docs Credentialing and...

• Medicare rule would reshape financial future of ASCs

  If elements of the proposed rule issued August 8 by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services...

• Facility handles accreditor switch with mock survey day

  Editor's note: The spotlight on accreditation is a monthly series offered in BOAA. Each month, we...

• Properly report to and obtain data from the NPDB

  Editor's note: The AAAHC Standard of the month is a monthly series offered in BOAA. Our AAAHC...

Issue 8, August 1, 2006 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Prepare for the worst: Conduct disaster drills to meet new JCAHO requirements

  In the wake of disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks...

• Center finds strength in numbers when preparing for AAAHC survey

  When it came time to prepare for their AAAHC reaccredidation survey, administrators and staff at...

• Craft a pain policy that’s more than just standard

  Editor's note: The AAAHC standard of the month is a series offered in BOAA. Our AAAHC experts...

• Going head to head: JCAHO's NPSGs 2007 vs. 2006

  Editor's note: Following the release of the JCAHO's 2007 National Patient Safety Goals in June...

• Thwart sleep apnea complications with plan and procedure

  A patient comes into your facility for what you think is a routine procedure. The surgery is...

Issue 7, July 1, 2006 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Learn from medication errors to prevent history from repeating

  Developing effective policies and procedures to internally handle medication errors is important...

• Center's year-round commitment to JCAHO eases surprise-survey stress

  On the day in April that the JCAHO chose to visit the McKenzie Surgery Center in Eugene, OR, the...

• Florida facility complies with JCAHO standard PI.2.20 through documentation

  I'm struggling to meet JCAHO standard PI.2.20. How are other JCAHO-accredited facilities tackling...

Issue 6, June 1, 2006 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• JCAHO updates National Patient Safety Goals FAQs online

  Industry experts highlight areas to assist with policy revision, staff education, maintain...

• Extensive application preparation eases survey for ASC, surveyors

  The time and effort that Sandy Berreth, RN, BS, MM, CASC, administrator of Brainerd Lakes Surgery...

• Involve anesthesiologists in correct-site identification

  Preventing wrong-site surgery is a team effort, and all of the members of your surgical team need...

• Report changes to avoid losing accreditation

  Your ASC may undergo many changes as it grows and strives to meet the needs of its patient...

Issue 5, May 1, 2006 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• AAAHC study finds increased use of medical event reporting systems

  According to a recent study by the AAAHC Institute for Quality Improvement, facilities increasingly...

• Learn how to comply with the NPSGs when dealing with critical test results

  Effective procedures boost efficiency, patient safety If your facility fails to receive critical...

• Incorporate patient data in the record before surgery

  Editor's note: The AAAHC standard of the month is a series offered in BOAA. Our AAAHC experts...

• Ensure physician reappointment with final four steps

  Editor's note: This is the second in a two-part series detailing the six steps you should take to...

• Center relies on past success to prepare for survey

  When the Delaware Outpatient Center for Surgery in Newark had an AAAHC reaccreditation survey in...

Issue 4, April 1, 2006 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Improve patient care and save money with these eight QI studies

  Quality improvement (QI) studies are necessary to maintain accreditation and improve your...

• Standards require facilities to address patient medication safety issues

  Editor's note: The AAAHC standard of the month is a series offered in BOAA. Each month, our AAAHC...

• Follow these steps to develop policies and procedures for anesthesia services

  Consider all of the variables involved in administering anesthesia. For example, there are multiple...

• JCAHO survey helps Florida center identify ways to improve

  Surveyor focuses on paper trails, recent H&Ps, staff complaints education Once Pam Copeland, RN...

Issue 3, March 1, 2006 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• ASCs share their first unannounced JCAHO survey experiences

  HealthSouth held a conference call in February during which several JCAHO-accredited ambulatory...

• Don’t neglect patient safety when undertaking facility expansion projects

  Expanding your ambulatory surgery center (ASC) is an exciting time. Once you complete construction...

• Determine your center’s CLIA certification status when preparing your survey

  Editor’s note: The AAAHC standard of the month is a series offered in BOAA. Our AAAHC experts...

• CDC simplifies its guidelines for preventing TB

  Criteria and frequency for TB screenings relaxed in outpatient settings Editor’s note...

• Avoid six of JCAHO’s top problematic standards with these tips: Part 2

  Editor’s note: The JCAHO recently issued its top problematic standards for the first half of...

Issue 2, February 1, 2006 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Educate staff about policies and procedures to prevent tragedies

  When Anne Dean, founder of ambulatory surgery center (ASC) consulting firm The Ada Group in DeLand...

• Institute award winners demonstrate value and usefulness of QI studies

  The AAAHC Institute for Quality Improvement handed out its second annual Innovations in Quality...

• Checklist crucial to AAAHC-Medicare survey success

  When Westfall Surgery Center in Rochester, NY, applied for an AAAHC-Medicare deemed status...

Issue 1, January 1, 2006 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Strengthen peer review process by observing physicians on six indicators

  Historically, the peer review process has focused on reviewing medical records, says Barbara Ann...

• New standard addresses who can administer propofol

  Editor’s note: The AAAHC standard of the month is a series offered in BOAA. Our AAAHC experts...