The Joint Commission will make changes to the Medicare-deemed ASC surveyor process for 2017.
The accreditation body will update its guidelines to align with the CMS surveyor guidelines by lengthening the survey and adding members to the accreditation team. The updates include:
1. Adding time for the clinical component of ASC Medicare-deemed surveys.
2. Giving surveyors time to cover Joint Commission and CMS requirements in addition to completing the CMS-required worksheets.
3. Allow time for surveyors to provide more meaningful education and consultative feedback.
4. Survey teams will now include two clinical surveyors in most cases to ensure consistency in interpretation.
5. Help ASCs better prepare for CMS state surveys.