Accreditation of ambulatory facilities

Richard D Urman; Beverly K Philip

doi:10.1016/j.anclin.2014.02.016

Accreditation of ambulatory facilities

Anesthesiol Clin. 2014 Jun;32(2):551-7. doi: 10.1016/j.anclin.2014.02.016. Epub 2014 Mar 29.

Authors

Richard D Urman¹, Beverly K Philip²

Affiliations

¹ Departments of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Electronic address: rurman@partners.org.
² Departments of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA.

PMID: 24882138
DOI: 10.1016/j.anclin.2014.02.016

Abstract

With the continued growth of ambulatory surgical centers (ASC), the regulation of facilities has evolved to include new standards and requirements on both state and federal levels. Accreditation allows for the assessment of clinical practice, improves accountability, and better ensures quality of care. In some states, ASC may choose to voluntarily apply for accreditation from a recognized organization, but in others it is mandated. Accreditation provides external validation of safe practices, benchmarking performance against other accredited facilities, and demonstrates to patients and payers the facility's commitment to continuous quality improvement.

Keywords: Accreditation; Ambulatory anesthesia; Ambulatory surgery center; Patient safety; Quality improvement.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Accreditation*
Ambulatory Care Facilities / legislation & jurisprudence
Ambulatory Care Facilities / standards*
Ambulatory Surgical Procedures
Humans
Quality Assurance, Health Care
United States