The goal of the QRI is to create a yearly tracking of ASC performance that will give consumers an accurate picture of how Colorado ASCs operate and the level of care they should expect from these ASCs.
Some information gleaned from the survey responses includes the following:
1. The typical Colorado ASC has one nurse for every two patients.
2. Colorado ASCs reported a median infection rate of less than 1/25 of 1 percent. According to the CDC, the national infection rate for healthcare facilities hovers around 5 percent.
3. Over 96 percent of Colorado ASCs conduct patient satisfaction surveys, and the results of those surveys show that more than 95 percent of ASC patients reported a positive surgical experience.
4. More than two-thirds of ASCs in Colorado last year provided care to patients not covered by commercial health plans regardless of the fact that ASCs typically do not receive any form of payment for surgeries performed on these patients.
?The data collected through our survey shows the tremendous commitment Colorado ASCs have to providing top notch health care,? says Eric Stahl, MD, CASCA?s vice president. ?With a high nurse-to-patient ratio and infection rates well below 1 percent, ASCs clearly represent a safe and affordable choice for Colorado?s surgical needs. We hope other Colorado healthcare providers will follow our lead and make these statistics public so citizens can truly make a fully informed healthcare choice.?
In December 2006, the CASCA QRI questionnaire was mailed out to all 106 Colorado ASCs identified by the state. The survey consisted of 29 questions on ASC financial, quality of care and clinical data, and ASCs were asked to complete as much of the survey as possible. A little more than half of Colorado?s ASCs provided responses to the survey and the data received was recorded and analyzed by an outside research firm, according to CASCA.
