AAAHC Update

What does it mean to say that you have an infection control (or risk management or quality improvement) program? You may, for example, have a series of policies that address a variety of infection prevention topics (e.g., hand hygiene, safe injection practices,...

By Angela Fitzsimmons “Informed consent” is the name given to the idea that a patient has a legal and ethical right to direct what happens to his/her body. The specific term appears in only a limited number of AAAHC Standards* relating to anesthesia, surgical...

Kathy Williams Beydler Peer review is a way of implementing organization-wide self-assessment by the people most qualified to assess it: similarly licensed health care professionals. Your organization and your patients will benefit from an effective, ongoing process...

Quality improvement is fundamental to AAAHC accreditation. The aim is simple but far-reaching: to promote a consistent, pervasive drive toward making things better across an organization. As a means of documentation, AAAHC asks each organization seeking accreditation...

By Jack Egnatinsky, MD “CMS has released revised interpretive guidelines to CMS state survey agencies and CMS regional offices. The new guidelines require ASC compliance with advance directives. While ASCs are still allowed to refuse to honor advance directives, the...