Accreditation and Surveys 
A lot of change is emanating from Joint Commission, and you can learn all about it during a three-hour Joint Commission Preconference Workshop at Periop Leader Week! On Sunday, Oct. 4, from 2:00 to 5:00 pm ET, you’ll hear straight from the source about Joint Commission’s latest survey and accreditation…
The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) has released its v45 Standards across all accreditation and certification programs. The new standards “introduce a comprehensive governance framework to help ambulatory healthcare organizations adopt and oversee AI responsibly.” AAAHC states that its updated v45 Standards reinforce its commitment to “continuous QI,…
The Leapfrog Group, which rates healthcare facilities on patient safety and quality of care, has published its 2026 ratings for more than 2,400 U.S. hospitals and more than 3,900 U.S. ASCs. It stated that the results “mark the highest level of participation in Leapfrog’s 26-year history.” The ratings are available…
The American College of Surgeons (ACS) and The Leapfrog Group have jointly announced a new Recognized Leader in Geriatric Surgery designation to be awarded to “hospitals that provide high-quality surgical care for older adults.” Hospitals will be eligible for the designation beginning in 2027. The organizations stated that the designation…
CMS is “taking steps to improve healthcare quality and patient safety through enhanced oversight of Accrediting Organizations (AO).” Announcing its final rule, “Strengthening Oversight of AO and Preventing AO Conflicts of Interest,” CMS stated that it wants to ensure AOs “use Medicare standards.” It added that the final rule also…
The Michael E. DeBakey Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center has become the country’s first VA medical center recognized by the American College of Surgeons’ (ACS) Quality Verification Program (QVP). The ACS QVP provides a standardized method for “establishing, measuring, and improving a hospital’s quality infrastructure across all surgical…
The Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) has unveiled a completely redesigned benchmarking survey that the organization states will provide its members a “more modern and personalized experience” that is more user-friendly. Formerly known as ASCA’s Clinical & Operational Benchmarking Survey, the new ASCA Benchmarking survey is ready for Q1 data…
The Surgery Center of Greater Nashua, part of Southern New Hampshire Health, stated that it has become the first U.S. same-day surgical care facility to attain NIAHO (National Integrated Accreditation for Healthcare Organizations) accreditation by Det Norske Veritas (DNV). “This designation by DNV means an outpatient surgical facility meets rigorous,…
Patient safety watchdog The Leapfrog Group yesterday announced an expansion of its Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) Public Reporting Program. It says the redesigned initiative to rate the safety of nearly 4,000 U.S. ASCs will go public in late July. Leapfrog President and CEO Leah Binder calls it a “game changer,”…
Taking a fresh look at your facility’s efforts to prevent surgical fires? Richard Parker, MBA, CHFM, CLSS-HC, FASHE, FACHE, associate director, physical environment and life safety at Accreditation Commission for Health Care (ACHC), last week wrote about the five key components of surgical fire prevention. The article, published by Healthcare…
