In our ongoing series, Becker's ASC Review spoke with American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities' Associate Director of Accreditation Jeanne Henry about the organization's commonly cited deficiency related to annual biomedical inspections.
Jeanne Henry: AAAASF ASC standard 200.060.010 requires a biomedical technician or [equal] equivalent annually inspect all of the [center's] equipment and report in writing that it is safe and operating according to the manufacturer’s specifications.
All electronic devices or equipment that are used to provide patient care should be included in the biomedical inspections. When inspected, the equipment must be plugged into the power source that will be used when providing patient care.
The manufacturer’s specifications for all equipment should be available within the ASC during the biomedical inspection.
Equipment that has been properly inspected should be stickered and dated. Written documentation must be present as evidence of the inspection. This report must list all inspected equipment and identify the status of each.
Surveyors often find that the most recent equipment inspection is outdated. In some instances, equipment is missed by the technician during the inspection. Maintaining a complete equipment list will ensure that all equipment is accounted for during the inspection.
