By now, almost everyone in the ASC industry is aware of the new CMS quality measure reporting requirements.
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To construct a truly outstanding patient-safety and quality control program, hospitals must first have a strong quality foundation.
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Seven years after the Joint Commission first unveiled mandatory rules to prevent operations on the wrong patient or body part, researchers and experts say the problem of wrong-site surgery has not improved.
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Most, if not all, hospitals and health systems have some version of a safety program in place that emphasizes patient, workplace and environmental safety.
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On May 18, 2009, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) conditions for coverage for ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) became effective for facilities that receive Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement.
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Many hospitals and health systems are turning their attention to quality to improve patient care and avoid financial penalties for issues such as preventable readmissions and infections.
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Preparing an ambulatory surgery center for an accreditation survey can be nerve-wracking, with so much paperwork to present and so many regulations to double-check.
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Alarm fatigue — when clinicians fail to respond to alarms due to overexposure — is a serious condition that can have fatal consequences for patients.
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So Medicare paid you a surprise visit and the result, unfortunately, was a Plan of Correction. Although you most likely are feeling a great deal of panic, take a few deep breaths and get busy.
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Can you define the following: "Deemed status, Safe Harbor Laws, Dantrium, FMLA, Certificates of Need, and Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus Aureus"?
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The AAAHC recently eliminated the six-month and one-year accreditation terms, and the change affects ASCs applying for accreditation after March 1.
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As America's waistband expands more and more, we are seeing patients who qualify for the classification of the morbidly obese being admitted to the surgery centers for their procedures.
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Occasionally, on an accreditation review, the AORN and ASA position of not using multiple dose vials in the operating room is commented on. At this junction, this is a recommendation — not a regulation.
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In 2009, Fargo, N.D.-based MeritCare merged with Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Sanford Health to create an integrated health system that now includes more than 34 hospitals, 116 clinics, 30 long-term care facilities and 1,000 physicians.
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Infection prevention and control is one of numerous issues in the forefront of healthcare, and healthcare organizations have taken on the challenge through a variety of means, including hiring infection preventionists.
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