AMBULATORY SURGERY CENTERS QUALITY COLLABORATION INITIATIVE

• OVERVIEW
• LEADERSHIP GROUP
• EXPERT GROUP
• ASC MEASURES

OVERVIEW:

Leaders from the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) industry and associations with a focus on healthcare quality and safety have formed the ASC Quality Collaboration. This Collaboration is engaged in a mutual effort to identify specific measures for quality appropriate to ASCs. This leadership group envisions the development of a standardized set of ambulatory surgery quality measures. It is anticipated that these measures will be in the public domain and used in discussion on pay-for-performance, responding to state data collection initiatives, collaborating with payors and others in providing consumer information, and benchmarking information primarily for quality improvement goals in individual ASCs. Consensus of the leadership group has lead to an initial focus on patient safety related measures.

top

LEADERSHIP GROUP:

The leadership group on the ASC Quality Collaboration includes:
~David Shapiro, MD, Co-Chair
~Kim Wood, MD, Co-Chair
~Cliff Adlerz, President, Symbion
~Kathy Bryant, President, Ambulatory Surgery Foundation
~John Burke, PhD, Executive Director and CEO, Accreditation Assoc Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC)
~Richard Sharff, Executive Vice President, Surgical Care Affiliates
~Lee Fleisher, MD, SCIP
~ Colleen Heeter, SVP Operations Design, Nueterra
~David Hunt, MD, Medical Officer, CMS Quality Improvement Group
~Michael Kulczycki, Executive Director, The Joint Commission
~Linda K. Groah, RN, MSN, CNOR, CNAA, FAAN, Executive Director/CEO, AORN
~Ken McDonald, President, AmSurg
~Richard Pence, President, National Surgical Care
~Thomas R. Russell, MD, FACS, Executive Director, American College of Surgeons (ACS)
~George Reuther, Director, Division of Healthcare Facilities Accreditation, American Osteopathic Association (AOA)
~John Schario, Executive Vice President, Nueterra
~Donna Slosburg, BSN, LHRM, CASC, Executive Director ASC Quality Collaboration
~Bill Wilcox, President and CEO, United Surgical Partners Inc (USPI)
~Kathy Wilson, VP Quality, HCA, Outpatient Services Group

top

EXPERT GROUP:

The ASC Quality Collaboration has convened an expert workgroup to gather information on existing measures and develop standard surgery measures. The development of these measures involves representatives from a wide range of stakeholders. This includes ASC clinical and administrative leaders, health policy researchers, CMS and other key federal and state governmental agency representatives. Initial workgroup meetings identified ambulatory surgery related patient safety measures that are currently in use, required, or under development by the ASC industry or by other quality organizations. Measure sources include National Quality Forum (NQF), Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP), Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC), Ambulatory care Quality Alliance (AQA) and Surgical Quality Alliance (SQA).

After review of commonalities between the current measure sources as well as use of these measures across organizations, the leadership and expert groups decided to work on nine initial measures. These measures have been collected for many years throughout the ASC industry but until now there have not been standardized definitions or criteria. The expert group has been making progress in defining/refining the measures through e-mail correspondence and bi-weekly conference calls.

The expert group on the ASC Quality Collaboration includes:

~AAAHC: Naomi Kuznets, PhD
~ Ambulatory Surgery Foundation: David Shapiro, MD,
Marian Lowe and Debra Stinchcomb, BSN, CASC
~AMSURG: Deby Samuels and Lorri Smith RN, BSN
~AOA/HFAP: Cheryl Smith and Barbara Swanson
~AORN: Bev Kirchner BSN, CNOR, CASC
~ASCOA: Ann Geier RN, MS, CNOR, CASC
~ASC Quality Collaboration Executive Director: Donna Slosburg BSN, LHRM, CASC
~CMS: David Hunt, MD
~Surgical Care Affiliates: Kim Wood, MD
~The Joint Commission: Michael Kulczycki and Sharon Sprenger
~NATIONAL SURGICAL CARE: Rhonda Arnwine, MBA, and Terry Hawes
~NOVAMED: Cassandra Speier
~NUETERRA: Lee Harper, RN and Michelle Smith, RN, MSN
~SCIP: Lee Fleisher, MD
~SYMBION: Steve Whitmore and Gina Throneberry
~USPI: David Zarin, MD and Becky Small, RNC, MS, CNOR

top

ASC MEASURES:

The Ambulatory Surgery Center measures are focused around patient safety. Data is currently being collected on these measures in ASCs nationwide but without standardization. These measures are outcome as well as process focused and include public interest concerns such as medication administration and correct site surgery. These measures address areas of potential operative and post operative complications such as hospital transfers/admissions and patient burns. For details on these measures go to the resource tab on this website.

The NQF has endorsed 6 measures that the ASC Quality Collaboration submitted as part of the 'specialty care' set of ambulatory performance measures.

If we can provide further information or clarification on this activity, please do not hesitate to contact our ASC Quality Collaboration Executive Director, Donna Slosburg, at 727-867-0072 or donnaslosburg@ascquality.org

top