ASCs sometimes struggle with keeping apprised of changes to accreditation standards as a result of Medicare rulings, so when it comes time for an accreditation survey, ASCs may be caught off-guard by new regulations they did not know were implemented.
"We do very well on our AAAHC surveys, but our biggest challenge is that Medicare changes their rulings several times in a year, and we sometimes can't keep up with those frequent changes," says Freida Toler, administrator at Amarillo (Texas) Endoscopy Center. "We had an infection control policy in place that was detailed, but Medicare made a change that affected AAAHC requirements on infection control that we were not aware of, so the AAAHC surveyors pointed that out during a survey."
In order to combat that challenge, here are four best practices for ASCs to adopt to stay better informed of frequent changes to Medicare rulings and subsequent accreditation standards.
1. Go to the Medicare website regularly. Visiting the Medicare website on a regular basis is the easiest and first line of defense against getting caught off-guard by new changes made to standards.
"I go to the Medicare website at least monthly to see what updates have been made, and I am now also on a mailing list for the national ASC organization," Ms. Toler says. "They give me quarterly and sometimes monthly updates on what's going on in the ASC world, which includes updates to Medicare."
2. Attend meetings held by accreditors. The ASC accrediting bodies typically hold meetings every year. Even though Amarillo Endoscopy Center may have already achieved accreditation that year, attending update meetings in the interim between surveys helps Ms. Toler stay better apprised of changes to regulations and standards.
"We became accredited this year, but we'll go to next year's [AAAHC] meeting again because we'll be due to apply at the end of 2012 to be accredited for 2013," she says. "We go to meetings in the middle of our accreditation period to make sure we're doing everything we can to keep up with what AAAHC requires."
3. Attend conferences and seminars. State and regional organizations put on regular conferences and seminars for ASCs to attend, which sometimes offer break-out sessions and lectures on updates to new guidelines and rulings by Medicare.
"Another administrator at our center and I go to the Texas State Gastroenterologist Association's meetings, and at those meetings they talk a lot about GI-related issues like sedation, coding and overview of procedures, but they always have a section that updates attendees on changes to Medicare regulations," Ms. Toler says. "There is an overview headed up by a member from The Joint Commission and another member of the AAAHC, and they go over accreditation, what CMS has going on now and what they plan to have in the future."
Ms. Toler adds that although receiving e-mail updates and alerts on Medicare's websites are helpful, hearing and talking about granular details and changes to Medicare standards is even more helpful. "It's helpful to hear it because when you read it in print it can be hard to understand because of the legal language, so you don't get the nuts and bolts of the message," she says. "These breakout sessions at the conferences takes out all the legal language and gives you an understandable interpretation of what the new rules are."
4. Hire consultants. Philip Grossman, MD, CEO and medical director of Kendall Endoscopy and Surgery Center, hired consultants that would help his surgery center stay up-to-date on Medicare's changing regulations and AAAHC's standards.
"The complexity of AAAHC's standards has mushroomed and the rules are a moving target, and I recognized the need to have someone who can help us prepare for accreditation," Dr. Grossman says. "Because the winds and currents change so often and so dramatically, what we needed was someone out there watching the changes for us."
Dr. Grossman adds having consultants not only helped the surgery center stay aware of changes in regulation but also will help implement necessary changes to remain accredited. "For example, we already had a policy at our facility that prohibited firearms in the workplace. Later, we learned from our consultants that we actually had to post notices about that policy."
Learn more about Amarillo Endoscopy Center.
"We do very well on our AAAHC surveys, but our biggest challenge is that Medicare changes their rulings several times in a year, and we sometimes can't keep up with those frequent changes," says Freida Toler, administrator at Amarillo (Texas) Endoscopy Center. "We had an infection control policy in place that was detailed, but Medicare made a change that affected AAAHC requirements on infection control that we were not aware of, so the AAAHC surveyors pointed that out during a survey."
In order to combat that challenge, here are four best practices for ASCs to adopt to stay better informed of frequent changes to Medicare rulings and subsequent accreditation standards.
1. Go to the Medicare website regularly. Visiting the Medicare website on a regular basis is the easiest and first line of defense against getting caught off-guard by new changes made to standards.
"I go to the Medicare website at least monthly to see what updates have been made, and I am now also on a mailing list for the national ASC organization," Ms. Toler says. "They give me quarterly and sometimes monthly updates on what's going on in the ASC world, which includes updates to Medicare."
2. Attend meetings held by accreditors. The ASC accrediting bodies typically hold meetings every year. Even though Amarillo Endoscopy Center may have already achieved accreditation that year, attending update meetings in the interim between surveys helps Ms. Toler stay better apprised of changes to regulations and standards.
"We became accredited this year, but we'll go to next year's [AAAHC] meeting again because we'll be due to apply at the end of 2012 to be accredited for 2013," she says. "We go to meetings in the middle of our accreditation period to make sure we're doing everything we can to keep up with what AAAHC requires."
3. Attend conferences and seminars. State and regional organizations put on regular conferences and seminars for ASCs to attend, which sometimes offer break-out sessions and lectures on updates to new guidelines and rulings by Medicare.
"Another administrator at our center and I go to the Texas State Gastroenterologist Association's meetings, and at those meetings they talk a lot about GI-related issues like sedation, coding and overview of procedures, but they always have a section that updates attendees on changes to Medicare regulations," Ms. Toler says. "There is an overview headed up by a member from The Joint Commission and another member of the AAAHC, and they go over accreditation, what CMS has going on now and what they plan to have in the future."
Ms. Toler adds that although receiving e-mail updates and alerts on Medicare's websites are helpful, hearing and talking about granular details and changes to Medicare standards is even more helpful. "It's helpful to hear it because when you read it in print it can be hard to understand because of the legal language, so you don't get the nuts and bolts of the message," she says. "These breakout sessions at the conferences takes out all the legal language and gives you an understandable interpretation of what the new rules are."
4. Hire consultants. Philip Grossman, MD, CEO and medical director of Kendall Endoscopy and Surgery Center, hired consultants that would help his surgery center stay up-to-date on Medicare's changing regulations and AAAHC's standards.
"The complexity of AAAHC's standards has mushroomed and the rules are a moving target, and I recognized the need to have someone who can help us prepare for accreditation," Dr. Grossman says. "Because the winds and currents change so often and so dramatically, what we needed was someone out there watching the changes for us."
Dr. Grossman adds having consultants not only helped the surgery center stay aware of changes in regulation but also will help implement necessary changes to remain accredited. "For example, we already had a policy at our facility that prohibited firearms in the workplace. Later, we learned from our consultants that we actually had to post notices about that policy."
Learn more about Amarillo Endoscopy Center.