ASC Accreditation, Licensure & Medicare Certification

Here are three quick safety and medication tips from Sheldon S. Sones, RPh, FASCP, a Newington, Conn.-based consultant, pharmacist and safe medication officer serving more than 100 ASCs in the Northeast.

Throughout the healthcare system, initiatives to promote patient safety, improve outcomes and report consistently on quality metrics are gaining considerable momentum. Many states have required reporting on various measures for several years, and both greater reporting and more diligence in…

In recent years the topic of managing sleep apnea patients in the surgical environment has risen from back-office whispers in ambulatory settings to a priority for most OR administrators and medical directors. Driven by complications associated with sleep apnea patients,…

Finding effective means to engage staff and physicians in making safety and accreditation a priority can be a challenge. But it’s certainly not impossible. To help with safety education and ensure greater buy-in from staff and physicians for meeting accreditation…

It appears that the FDA is requiring certain manufacturers of balanced salt solutions (BSS) to cease and desist from manufacturing these products on or before November 24, 2008. You can read the FDA release here. If you use these products,…

The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) Institute for Quality Improvement has announced that a program combating childhood obesity and diabetes and one that improves pathology reporting are the winners of the Institute’s 2008 Innovations in QI Awards.

The Joint Commission has issued a Sentinel Event Alert concerning the use of blood thinners following several high profile errors related to their use.

Q: Some of our organizations have reflected on surveyor’s expectations regarding “crossovers” of drug allergies and what the facility does to assist in screening for those. How would you suggest we address this expectation?

Q: Considering that propofol is the most widely used anesthetic in our facility and that there are specific AAAHC expectations regarding the use of agents for which there are no reversal agents, coupled with the more recent emphasis on the…

The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care is seeking public comment for proposed revisions to its standards for 2009.