title: Accreditation of ambulatory facilities.
abstract: With the continued growth of ambulatory surgical centers (ASC), the regulation of facilities has evolved to include new standards and requirements on both state and federal levels. Accreditation allows for the assessment of clinical practice, improves accountability, and better ensures quality of care. In some states, ASC may choose to voluntarily apply for accreditation from a recognized organization, but in others it is mandated. Accreditation provides external validation of safe practices, benchmarking performance against other accredited facilities, and demonstrates to patients and payers the facility's commitment to continuous quality improvement.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Electronic address: rurman@partners.org.
authors.forename: Richard D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Urman
authors.affiliation: Departments of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Beverly K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Philip
mesh_terms: D000068:Accreditation; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000592:standards*; D000556:Ambulatory Surgical Procedures; D006801:Humans; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D014481:United States
keywords: Accreditation; Ambulatory anesthesia; Ambulatory surgery center; Patient safety; Quality improvement