During the week of June 7, a number of media outlets around the country featured coverage critical of the ASC industry, emphasizing elevated infection rates at these facilities. However, most of the coverage featured isolated incidents at a small number of facilities, and generalizations should not be spread to ASCs as a whole, says the New Jersey Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers.
The coverage stemmed primarily from an article published last week in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study cited by JAMA was conducted early in 2009 and focused on a small sampling of ASCs. According to the NJAASC, many of the issues raised by this limited study already have been addressed and corrected, either by individual centers or by new, improved regulations. All Medicare-certified ASCs are required to follow specific infection-control guidelines and are surveyed on their adherence to these guidelines.
According to Jeffrey Shanton, director of business management at Journal Square Surgical Center in Jersey City, N.J., ABC News' coverage provided no "other side" to the story. "At the ASC in Nevada that was referred to, the incident was over one year ago…and was riddled with errors and generalities that simply do not apply to everyone," he says. "ASCs are regulated by the state, and there are 50 states, so potentially 50 sets of rules and regulations. To paint with a broad brush is dangerous and misleading."
The coverage stemmed primarily from an article published last week in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study cited by JAMA was conducted early in 2009 and focused on a small sampling of ASCs. According to the NJAASC, many of the issues raised by this limited study already have been addressed and corrected, either by individual centers or by new, improved regulations. All Medicare-certified ASCs are required to follow specific infection-control guidelines and are surveyed on their adherence to these guidelines.
According to Jeffrey Shanton, director of business management at Journal Square Surgical Center in Jersey City, N.J., ABC News' coverage provided no "other side" to the story. "At the ASC in Nevada that was referred to, the incident was over one year ago…and was riddled with errors and generalities that simply do not apply to everyone," he says. "ASCs are regulated by the state, and there are 50 states, so potentially 50 sets of rules and regulations. To paint with a broad brush is dangerous and misleading."