The ASC Association has announced that CMS has issued guidance clarification stating ambulatory surgery centers may perform a patient's history and physical (H&P) on the same day of surgery.
The ASC Association had expressed concern to CMS about state surveyor confusion concerning the regulatory requirement, according to a news release from the ASC Association. In response, CMS issued a memorandum stating ASCs could perform an H&P on the same day as surgery as long as it is performed by qualified personnel, is comprehensive and is placed in the patient's ASC medical record prior to surgery.
ASCs cannot perform the H&P after the patient has been prepped and brought into the OR or procedure room.
Finally, CMS stated that if the H&P is conducted in the ASC on the same day as the surgical procedure, some elements of the required pre-surgical assessments may be incorporated into the H&P; however, this does not apply to the anesthesia/procedure risk assessment, which must be performed by a physician immediately before surgery and after the H&P.
The ASC Association reminded surgery centers that "state law, the agreements an ASC has with its insurance providers and an ASC's own policies may establish other requirements for the timing of the H&P that the ASC must follow."
Read a copy of the CMS memorandum, published to the ASC Association's website, about conducting a surgery center history and physical (pdf).
Learn more about the ASC Association.
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