Daren Smith, director of ASC Solutions at Surgical Information Systems, shared his thoughts on how ASCs can improve quality.
Three things to know:
1. Evaluate the medical director's role in quality programs. An ASC medical director should be a liaison between the surgery center and the medical staff. The medical director should represent the ASC on the quality committee and design quality programs.
2. Examine the role of a quality assurance committee. Mr. Smith said not all ASCs need a quality assurance committee; practice size is a factor. A quality assurance committee can be just an ASC administrator and the medical director for a small AS; a larger one could have a committee composed of all its stakeholders.
3. Survey patient experience. To assess quality, ASCs can conduct patient experience surveys via online tools or paper forms. The results can help identify areas for quality improvement.
