AAAHC Institute Honors Healthcare Facilities with its Innovations in Quality Improvement Awards; New York ASC Acknowledged for its Sedation Practices

Above: Elmira ASC, LLC

WILMETTE, Ill. -- Winners of the second annual Innovations in Quality Improvement Awards have been announced by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care s Institute for Quality Improvement (AAAHC Institute). Award winners for 2005 are:

-- Elmira ASC, LLC, Elmira, N.Y., for its program: Cataract Anesthesia: An Evidence-Based Approach, a program to standardize sedation practices that aims to improve outcomes and lower costs related to cataract surgery.

-- State University of New York (SUNY) at Postdam for Hepatitis B Vaccination: Bridging the Gap, a program of the University s student health center to increase hepatitis B vaccination among students, a population at risk for sexual transmission of the disease.

Elmira ASC, LLC re-examined the anesthesia used for patients undergoing cataract surgery, the most frequent outpatient surgery performed in the U.S. today. Taking an approach based on the scientific evidence, they switched from intravenous anesthetic (IV midazolam and Fentanyl) to an oral anesthetic to sedate patients. The ASC chose oral sedation (diazepam) because it has lower risks than conscious sedation, and less stringent pre-op testing and monitoring. It also does not require an anesthesiologist be present.  Social sedation, with an employee holding the patient’s hand and talking the patient through the procedure, was added as a comfort measure. This is expected to result in an estimated reduction from 10 percent to 2 percent in the relative risk of medical complications, and costs can be as low as under $50 for oral medications administered without an anesthesiologist, compared to nearly $300 for IV medications with an anesthesiologist.

"The Innovations in Quality Improvement Awards spotlight and encourage outstanding programs that measurably improve the safety, quality and efficiency of health care services offered in the ambulatory, or outpatient, setting," said Naomi Kuznets, PhD, managing director of the AAAHC Institute.

The winners receive a crystal award and an expenses-paid trip to Las Vegas in December, where they will receive their awards, and make presentations about their studies during the opening session of the AAAHC Institute's Fifth Annual National Quality Forum for Ambulatory Health Care.

The AAAHC Institute Award is open to all organizations accredited by AAAHC. Winners are selected by a panel of experts on measurement and ambulatory healthcare.

The Accreditation Association established the AAAHC Institute in 1999 to provide ambulatory healthcare organizations opportunities to participate in clinical performance measurement studies and educational programs. To date, the AAAHC Institute has conducted and published 19 clinical performance measurement studies and has convened annual national forums on quality improvement in ambulatory healthcare. Involvement in clinical performance measurement is a signal to patients, government agencies, professional liability insurers, and third-party payors, that an ambulatory health organization is concerned about continually improving the care it provides to its patients.

Source: AAAHC