The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care has released its 2014 Accreditation Association Electronic National Evaluation and Information Dataset report, which evaluates compliance with 2013 AAAHC standards. Here are five things to know from the report.
1. The majority (79 percent) of organizations analyzed in the report are ambulatory surgery centers. The remainder of the analyzed organizations are primary care organizations (12 percent) and office-based surgery facilities (9 percent).
2. Standards 2.I.11.F and 8.A.2 were the most commonly cited deficiencies for ASCs. The two standards refer to Medicare Conditions for Coverage requiring the governing body to ensure compliance with CMS requirements, include NFPA Life Safety Code regulations, according to the report.
3. The other areas in which ASCs were most commonly found deficient included:
Credentialing, privileging and peer review
• 2.II.D
• 2.II.B.5
• 2.II.G
Quality improvement
• 5.I.C
• 5.I.C.6
Documentation in clinical records
• 6.F
• 4.E.4
4. "Our surveyors found ambulatory organizations excel in treating patients with a high level of service," said John Burke, PhD, president and CEO of AAAHC. "Patient-centered care is foundational for AAAHC, which is why it is the first Standard of our Accreditation Handbook. We're not surprised, but happy to confirm, that for the second year nearly all ambulatory organizations our surveyors visited are meeting that standard."
5. AAAHC's focus for improvement in the coming year includes:
• Clarification of standards regarding credentialing and privileging
• Ongoing development of tools to assist compliance with AAAHC standards
• Additional support form surveyors while on-site
• Increased emphasis on newsletters, webinars and conference presentations
• "Illuminating Quality Improvement" to be launched this month