GURNEE, Ill., Jan. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On January 26, 2007, the Educational Foundation for the American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities (AAAASF) will present a national summit conference in Chicago with representatives of major health care accrediting agencies and medical associations involved in outpatient surgery. Conference participants will address current and future needs and concerns for optimizing the impact of accreditation to strengthen patient safety standards in outpatient surgical settings.
"The main purpose of the summit is to expand the AAAASF Patient Safety Initiative in coordination with the other stakeholders to ensure and improve the safety of patients in the office-based setting," said AAAASF President Alan Gold, MD.
One of the goals of the AAAASF Patient Safety Summit Conference, noted Gold, is to create a series of initiatives that accrediting agencies can collaborate on to further improve the overall safety of office-based surgery.
"With advanced monitoring equipment, a better understanding of how to minimize risk and manage complications, and increased oversight by accrediting organizations, I believe the potential safety of office-based surgery has improved," said Gold. "However, all procedures have associated risks, and it is in everyone's best interest to minimize that risk and practice under standards set by various accrediting organizations."
Summit speakers and other participants will provide evidence showing that accreditation of office-based surgical practices enhances patient safety. In two sessions, speakers from AAAASF, the Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Health Care Organization (JCAHO), the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) and the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) will assess how accreditation fosters safety improvements and recommend new collaborations for consideration by accrediting agencies to further protect patient safety.
One issue of concern is overcoming potential physician resistance to oversight and regulation as an intrusion into their surgical practices. Dr. Gold noted that non-accredited facilities operating without independent quality validation can place patients at serious risk from inadequate, outdated or malfunctioning equipment, improperly trained or credentialed staff, or by following suboptimal safety procedures, such as for infection control.
Patient Safety Summit Conference 2007 will take place on Friday, January 26, from 9:00 to 3:30 at the Westin O'Hare Chicago.
AAAASF is the leading national accreditation organization devoted to developing and implementing standards of excellence in ambulatory patient care through its accreditation programs. AAAASF demands 100 percent compliance and is considered the gold standard for ambulatory surgery facility accreditation.
American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery
