March 25, 2016

“In preparation for deemed status accreditation of surgery centers for Medicare or Medicaid programs, your surgery center must comply with the Medicare Conditions for Coverage (CfC) requirements set forth in the ASC federal regulations (Title 42 CFR 416 Subparts A – C).

Your ASC can achieve this status by participating in a Medicare deemed status accreditation survey provided by a nationally recognized accrediting organization such as the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care Inc. (AAAHC), or The Joint Commission (TJC), among others.

Once your ASC attains this status, CMS will grant your ASC with “deeming” authority as meeting the Medicare and Medicaid certification requirements. Your ASC will be recognized by the healthcare industry, professional ASC groups, payors, and your community as providing established best demonstrated practices and high quality of care as required by Medicare. Your ASC team can proudly display this accomplishment with your accreditation certificate framed in your center’s lobby.

Below is a list of 10 key areas to address for ASC CMS deemed status accreditation readiness. CMS regulations are applied in these and other areas of services provided by the ASC and will be addressed by the accreditation survey team.

• Patient’s rights, responsibilities and safety
• Governance/Leadership/Administration
• Human resources
• High quality of care with surgical or procedural services
• Quality and performance improvement and organization-wide safety
• Quality and performance improvement and organization-wide safety
• Medical records and information management
• Medication management and safety
• Infection control and prevention
• Environment of care/Life Safety/Emergency Management
• Additional standards apply for ASC’s offering certain services such as radiology, anesthesia, lithotripsy, pathology, extended recovery care, pharmacy, dental, and more.

Watch for details about each of the 10 key areas and more in an upcoming PPH blog.”