Accreditation can help ASCs gain an edge over competitors and aid in negotiations with payers. But undergoing an accreditation survey can be a daunting process.
Three tips to ease the accreditation process:
1. Get your documents in order. Surveyors look for written documentation to verify ASCs are meeting credentialing and privileging requirements, according to surveyors from the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care and the American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities in The Ophthalmic ASC. Use an accreditation body's standard manual to determine how documentation is organized to meet the documentation management requirement.
2. Know the drill. Accreditation surveys can happen at any time, meaning an ASC must be prepared to meet requirements, according to Pinnacle III, an ASC management group. To prepare for a survey, ASCs should complete emergency and fire drills and have the documentation to show completion.
3. Sweat the 'small' stuff on infection control. There are no "small" details when it comes to infection prevention and control, according to Naomi Kuznets, PhD, vice president and senior director of the AAAHC.
"Even what some may consider small, in fact, present significant issues and have an impact on morbidity and mortality rates. Other specific areas where a detail within a process may be overlooked include practicing hand hygiene, placement and proper use of sharps containers, allowing for adequate drying time after use of alcohol to disinfect site and safe storage of medications," Dr. Kuznets told Becker's ASC Review. "These are just a few; there are many more 'small' steps which, if not addressed, could easily lend themselves to big problems."