Three experts shared their tips on quality improvement for ASCs with Becker's ASC Review:
1. Northwestern Medicine nursing manager Lynn Nolan:
ASCs are a rapidly changing environment, and effective throughput is one of the most important factors in ensuring efficient, high quality and cost-effective care. Analytic data is necessary and something often thought of after implementing process improvement. I would recommend identifying your specific metrics and then having analytic data in place to evaluate the effectiveness of process change.
2. Simplify ASC's Marta Shultz:
ASC quality reporting has lagged on the CMS front behind hospital reporting requirements. However, CMS is working to integrate the hospital outpatient standards and ASC reporting standards. Sometimes this is a good fit; sometimes it requires jamming a round peg into an oval hole. The main takeaway? This is not going away. As more extensive and expensive procedures move into ASCs, the focus on quality of procedures for CMS and as a competitive edge is going to increase.
If you send satisfaction surveys, are you getting any negative feedback? Can you compare any of the data you collect to national benchmarks to see where you have a slight (or large) deficit? What have been your last 10 incidents reported? I think many times people try to go after what’s hitting the news versus knowing or identifying their own areas for improvement.
3. Gina Calder, Bridgeport (Conn.) Hospital's vice president of ambulatory services:
Embracing and reinforcing a safety culture is key. At Bridgeport Hospital, we practice 200 percent accountability, and team members crosscheck one another if they are not following expected hand-washing practices. Our medical director of infection prevention and control launches promotional and educational campaigns that reinforce the importance of hand- washing.
