The Leapfrog Group launched a survey evaluating ASC quality and safety April 1.
What you should know:
1. Leapfrog invited all U.S. ASCs to report data to its inaugural ASC survey, which includes five categories of questions: basic facility information; medical, surgical and clinical staff; volume and safety of procedures; patient safety practices; and patient experience.
2. Leapfrog's separate hospital survey includes questions about outpatient surgery for the first time this year. These questions, which appear in the "Outpatient Procedures Section" on the hospital survey, are intended to help consumers and purchasers compare procedures across care settings.
3. The survey submission deadline is June 30. ASCs can obtain a security code for survey access by contacting Leapfrog's Help Desk. Participation is free and voluntary.
4. Leapfrog plans to make aggregated data on ASCs and HOPDs publicly available this fall. Facility-level results will only be made public beginning with the 2020 surveys, but facilities that complete the 2019 survey will receive individual benchmarking reports.
5. Leapfrog developed the surveys with input from an expert panel and the Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality at Baltimore-based John Hopkins Medicine. The nonprofit organization also refined the questions through pilot testing.
"Health plans and purchasers rely on The Leapfrog Group for value-based purchasing and reporting to their enrollees and employees, and we are proud to be able to expand our ratings to cover outpatient surgery and ASCs," said Leapfrog President and CEO Leah Binder. "By participating in the Leapfrog Hospital or ASC Surveys, hospitals and ASCs alike can be recognized for their quality and safety."
