COVER STORY
portant to document the discussion to demonstrate your governing body’s par- ticipation in QAPI. Keep in mind that benchmarking is an ongoing process. It is not a static, one-time event. There are some pro- cesses or outcomes that you will always review, and there are times you can stop measuring the same thing again and again because you are equal to or above your goal. Once you achieve or exceed your goal, look for a new item to measure and a new opportunity to move forward into a QAPI project to demon- strate improvement in patient care.
Let Surveyors Know When surveyors ask about benchmark- ing, ASCs sometimes forget to mention all of the the benchmarking activities they are conducting. Your participation in reporting G-codes on your claims
changes your reimbursement, which might occur in the future?
is an important benchmark of quality measures. Are you checking month to month what you are reporting to spot any trends that might indicate a need for action? Are you participating in ASCA Benchmarking so that you can compare your rate of patient burns, falls, wrong procedure/site and timeliness of anti- biotic administration to other ASCs? And, wouldn’t you want to know how you stand on these particular measures before CMS publishes information or
Flexibility Instead of laying down a rigid set of activ- ities for all centers, benchmarking helps a center concentrate on its own unique areas where an improvement plan can have the greatest impact. Would you want to spend time collecting more data and analyzing it when a particular benchmark shows you are already a top of performer? Knowing where you stand on certain key performance indicators (KPIs) can help you dedicate your resources to improving performance and outcomes and demon- strate your results.
Sandra J. Jones, CASC, is the chief executive of- ficer of Ambulatory Strategies Inc. in Dade City, Florida. Write her at
sjones@aboutascs.com.
16 ASC FOCUS NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013
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