AAAHC released a new report titled the "AAAHC Quality Roadmap 2018" based on data from over 900 accreditation surveys, identifying areas of high and low compliance for ASCs, Medicare deemed status ASCs, office-based surgery facilities and primary care settings.
Here are the key details to know:
1. The report found the top deficiencies cited in 11 percent of survey ratings were consistent with 2017 results. The survey also found organizations demonstrated improvement from last year's findings in the areas of documenting allergies, untoward drug reactions in patient clinical records and conducting quality improvement studies.
2. The AAAHC's analysis found accredited organizations showed high compliance with certain standards, and showed improvement in others, including:
Non-Medicare deemed status standards
● Timely consultation and referral for patients
● Verification that patients understand how to use newly issued medical devices
● Agreements with another provider group or nearby hospital for patient transfer in the case of an emergency
Medicare deemed status standards
● Timely patient transfer information
● Investigation of all patient grievances
● Use of performance measures to improve outcomes
Quality improvement programs
3. "Our quality roadmap is designed to help ambulatory providers understand the most common deficiencies relevant to their setting and compare the findings to their own survey ratings and self-assessments to gauge performance," said Naomi Kuznets, PhD, AAAHC Institute vice president and senior director in a release. "We encourage organizations to leverage the report, as well as other AAAHC educational resources and toolkits and review policies, procedures, and practices to improve quality of patient care."