Media Contact:
Ken Powers
Media Relations Manager
630.792.5175
kpowers@jointcommission.org
(OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill. – January 16, 2008) A new patient safety law taking effect January 14, 2008, will require New York State physician practices that perform office-based surgical procedures to achieve accreditation.
The accreditation requirement is part of 2007 legislation designed to protect the thousands of patients who undergo surgery in a physician’s office each year in New York. One of the main components of the law is that office-based surgeries must be performed by physicians in a setting that achieves and maintains accreditation from a nationally recognized accrediting organization, such as The Joint Commission, as determined by the New York State Health Commissioner.
The need for strengthened quality oversight for office-based surgery has grown as the number of increasingly complex surgical and invasive procedures performed in doctors’ offices has more than doubled in the last decade, with nearly 10 million surgical procedures performed annually in office-based settings nationwide since 2000. Prior to this new legislation, surgeries performed in doctors’ offices were not regulated in New York State.
New York State office-based surgery practices, if not already accredited by The Joint Commission or two other approved accrediting agencies, must become accredited on or before July 14, 2009. This new law reflects a national trend of state health departments and boards of medicine strengthening their oversight of quality efforts. The Joint Commission played a key role in development of the legislation and subsequent law through testimony and serving on panels that guided the process.
“The Joint Commission is pleased to receive recognition of its accreditation of office-based surgery practices from the New York State Department of Health,” says Mark R. Chassin, M.D., M.P.P., M.P.H., president, The Joint Commission. “To New York patients seeking surgical services outside the hospital setting, Joint Commission accreditation represents a commitment to maintaining compliance with national standards for providing safe, high-quality care.”
The Joint Commission began accrediting office-based surgery practices in 2001. The Joint Commission’s office-based surgery standards emphasize attention to those issues that most directly impact patients and cover essential areas such as patient care, patient safety, staffing, customer service, improving care, and responsible leadership. As a national evaluator of the safety and quality of care provided by health care organizations, The Joint Commission has more than 30 years of experience in promoting safe, high-quality care for patients seeking care at more than 50 types of ambulatory care settings. The office-based surgery standards were established specifically for physicians offering surgical or invasive procedures in an appropriate physician-based setting. Many different types of office practices are eligible for accreditation and impacted by this new law, including endoscopy suites, plastic surgery practices and urology practices.
Ambulatory care organizations and office-based surgery practices can often reap the benefits of Joint Commission accreditation, such as strengthening community confidence in the safety and quality of care, strengthening patient safety efforts and enhancing business operations. Currently, 25 states recognize Joint Commission accreditation for ambulatory care settings - in whole or in part - in fulfillment of regulatory requirements. Fourteen states recognize Joint Commission accreditation for office-based surgery. For more information about the office-based surgery accreditation program, please call 630.792.5286 or e-mail OBS@jointcommission.org