JCAHO accredits first office-based surgery
JCAHO accredits first office-based surgery
The Monterey Bay Medical Surgery Center and practice of Robert Mraule, DDS, MD, and David Perrott, DDS, MD, in Salinas, CA, is the first office-based surgery practice to be accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) under a new quality evaluation program. The practice was awarded accreditation following a thorough on-site evaluation against 146 specific standards that address key patient safety and quality performance expectations.
JCAHO’s new office-based surgery standards emphasize attention to those issues that directly affect patients and their care, and cover essential areas such as medication and anesthesia, safety, practitioner credentials, staff competency, and customer service. "We are proud to be the first medical or dental facility to achieve office-based accreditation by JCAHO," says Mraule, whose practice includes surgical services for oral, maxillofacial, and cosmetic conditions. "It has validated our continual effort to provide high-quality care in a safe environment."
More than 8.3 million surgeries were performed last year in an estimated 41,000 office-based surgery sites across the United States. That number is expected to continue to grow and by 2002 even surpass the number of procedures performed in hospitals.
"Changes in our health care system in the areas of reimbursement and technology mean that more and more patients are undergoing complicated procedures in office-based surgery settings," says Linda Kelley Peterson, JCAHO’s executive director of the Ambulatory Care Accreditation Program. "JCAHO accreditation will standardize national expectations for patient safety and quality and give patients valuable information that they can use to make decisions as to where to seek care," Peterson says.
Practices eligible for accreditation include oral and maxillofacial surgeons’ offices, endoscopy suites, plastic surgery practices, podiatric practices, and laser surgery centers. Office-based surgery centers interested in information about becoming accredited should call Peterson at (630) 792-5198.
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