title: International accreditation of ambulatory surgical centers and medical tourism.
abstract: The two forces that have driven the increase in accreditation of outpatient ambulatory surgery centers (ASC's) in the United States are reimbursement of facility fees by Medicare and commercial insurance companies, which requires either accreditation, Medicare certification, or state licensure, and state laws which mandate one of these three options. Accreditation of ASC's internationally has been driven by national requirements and by the competitive forces of "medical tourism." The three American accrediting organizations have all developed international programs to meet this increasing demand outside of the United States.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Division of Plastic Surgery, University of Southern California, 1520 San Pablo Street, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA. mmcguire@UCLA.edu
authors.forename: Michael F
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: McGuire
mesh_terms: D000068:Accreditation / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities / Q000458:organization & administration*; D000556:Ambulatory Surgical Procedures; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D057193:Medical Tourism; D013531:Surgicenters / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014481:United States
keywords: Accreditation; Ambulatory surgical centers; International accreditation; Medical tourism; Outpatient facilities; Outpatient surgery; Patient safety; Plastic surgery