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, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

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

  As we head into cold and flu season, it’s more important than ever to ensure that your staff...

• Beating CFCs to the punch

  ASCs make proactive changes in advance of final rule As ambulatory surgery centers (ASC) await the...

• Surgical smoke raises safety alarms

  Procedures may expose 500,000 healthcare workers annually New information from regulators and...

• Preparing for the challenges of Medicare fee changes

  Editor’s note: The following article is an excerpt from the HCPro book APCs for ASCs...

• OSHA citations are down, but fines carry weight

  ASCs struggle to meet standards with smaller staffs and fewer resources The number of Occupational...

Issue 11, November 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Pathology -project, diabetes program win QI awards

  A leading accreditor’s annual competition for quality improvement (QI) awards not only offers...

• AAAHC’s Chapter 5 proposal worries some facilities

  Even those praising the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care’s (AAAHC...

• Vigilance needed on reproductive hazards in healthcare

  Although it might not be the next topic featured in a most-dangerous-job reality TV show, a...

• Tackle disruptive clinician behavior early and often

  There might not be many disruptive clinicians inthe ambulatory world, but organizations still need...

Issue 10, October 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Timeouts need to include the entire surgical team

  Surgery centers that want to comply with The Joint Commission’s new Universal ProtocolTM...

• Universal Protocol: Q&A with Peter B. Angood

  Editor’s note: HCPro’s sister publication Briefings on The Joint Commission recently...

• Save time, money by asking doctors’ offices for info

  Surgery centers that want to save time and money should ask their patients’...

• Flash sterilization stirs up debate in ASCs

  Flash sterilization is common practice in many ambulatory surgery centers (ASC) across the nation...

• How to conduct an effective root cause analysis

  No matter what event or near miss sets the process in motion, every root cause analysis (RCA...

Issue 9, September 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• New Joint Commission standards change scoring and eliminate FMEAs

  Surgery centers accredited by The Joint Commission will face two seismic changes come January 1...

• Joint Commission cracks down on disruptive clinicians

  Dictatorial docs who demean, bully, or otherwise behave badly may want to get in touch with their...

• Proposed CfCs, public reporting top list of ASC concerns

  As ambulatory surgery centers (ASC) prepare to implement new Conditions for Coverage (CfC) and...

• Teamwork helps prevent surgical fires in ASCs

  The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) has published a new advisory that aims to help...

Issue 8, August 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• ASCs welcome clarification on medication reconciliation

  The Joint Commission's revised medication reconciliation requirements have relieved many in the...

• Ask simple questions to manage your data

  Ambulatory surgery centers (ASC) struggling to keep up with increasing demands to collect, analyze...

• Organized charts, documents spell success

  Keeping organized charts and proper documentation is a major focus for facilities when the...

• Ensure proper training for propofol use in ASCs

  Propofol is used in many ambulatory surgery centers (ASC), especially for routine colonoscopies. It...

Issue 7, July 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Avoid these pitfalls when survey time comes around

  Stumbling over quality studies, credentialing, and peer review? How about primary and secondary...

• Medication reconciliation challenges, confuses ASCs

  Medication reconciliation is not only the most difficult National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG...

• How to comply with critical-result reporting requirements

  Keep your lists of critical tests and critical results and values short and minimize the number of...

• Proposed changes would make doctors mark the site

  The Joint Commission's proposed changes to the Universal Protocol would make the National Patient...

Issue 6, June 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• How to protect sleep apnea patients from complications

  Ambulatory surgery centers (ASC) that want to keep sleep apnea patients safe-and prevent their...

• Strategies for mastering the basics of benchmarking

  Editor's note: The following is an excerpt from Benchmarking Basics: A Resource Guide for...

• Ambulatory surgery center strides through seamless survey

  Not every ambulatory surgery center (ASC) works to be accredited, and when staff members decide to...

• Nine healthcare professionals detail challenges

  ASCs struggle with data collection, quality assurance, documentation Briefings on Ambulatory...

• Prevention, not punishment, key to patient safety

  Good news for hospitals scrambling to meet The Joint Commission's new culture of safety standard...

Issue 5, May 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Unsafe practice may cause infected medication vials

  A recent Hepatitis C outbreak involving a Nevada surgery center led the Centers for Disease Control...

• Preserving evidence is essential for effective RCAs

  A good root-cause analysis (RCA) is akin to the investigations done on the hit television series...

• Keep surgery center survey preparation simple

  If you're looking to achieve accreditation, keep it simple, plan ahead, and give yourself time for...

• AAAHC studies offer best-practice strategies

  Want to know how your colleagues are improving procedure and discharge times for colonoscopies and...

Issue 4, April 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• AAAHC places greater emphasis on peer review

  The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) is working to clarify existing...

• New program rewards patient-centered care

  A new medical home program launched by Bridges to Excellence (BTE) will offer bonuses of up to...

• Good retention helps ASC pass AAAHC survey

  Armed with a happy staff and resources from the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health...

• Preaccreditation jitters: Is your ASC infected?

  Preaccreditation jitters (PAJ) occur on a regular basis in ambulatory surgery centers (ASC...

• Managing significant event data to make improvements

  Editor's note: What is a realistic goal for the collection and best use of data at your...

Issue 3, March 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• New AAAHC standards hold patients accountable for their care and compliance

  Scores of revised standards for organizations accredited by the Accreditation Association for...

• Proposed goals confuse some, please others

  The Joint Commission's proposed 2009 National Patient Safety Goal (NPSG) requirements and...

• Follow these seven steps for QI study success

  A robust quality improvement (QI) study for the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health...

• NY offices urged not to delay investigating accreditation

  Procrastinators in New York beware: If you don't take action soon, you could get lost in the...

Issue 2, February 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Insurer halts payment for GI conscious sedation

  As the debate rages about the safety of the sedative propofol, another leading insurance company...

• Prepare now for anticoagulation requirement

  Many ambulatory surgical centers (ASC) may not provide anticoagulation therapy, but they still have...

• Preparing for a new Medicare payment system

  Gastrointestinal (GI) ambulatory surgery centers (ASC) face a tough year ahead in terms of Medicare...

• Staff readiness key to Joint Commission survey success

  Millennium Surgical Center in Cherry Hill, NJ, opened for surgery in October 2007. Within almost a...

• RCAs can boost quality without taxing staff

  Safety systems in high-risk industries such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration...

Issue 1, January 1, 2008 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• New AAAHC handbook has many chapter revisions

  To provide clarification, ensure standards reflect current trends in ambulatory healthcare...

• AAAHC Institute names quality award winners

  A scalpel safety program and a project to prevent adverse drug effects (ADE) have won quality...

• NQF endorses five measures for quality reporting

  The National Quality Forum (NQF) in December 2007 endorsed five measures the ASC Quality...

• Culture key to boosting patient satisfaction rates

  Streamlining documents, informational patient brochures, and an atmosphere of respect are all...

• Stay ahead of the accreditation game in 2008

  Editor's note: The following is the first in an occasional series of articles about accreditation...