Thanks to ASCA’s efforts, the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) has now been updated to reflect recent CMS policy changes. As of Dec. 23, 2011, prior to the day of surgery, ASCs are no longer required to notify patients of their rights, the list of the ASC’s physician investors or the ASC’s advance directive policies. Previously, however, the CFR was not updated to reflect this change, and so the online regulations incorrectly stated that an ASC had to provide patients a copy of the center’s advance directive policy prior to surgery. Concerned that this error may lead to surveyor misinterpretation, ASCA reached out to the Government Printing Office which acknowledged the oversight and updated the online copy of the regulations.
Unfortunately, the interpretive guidelines used by state Medicare surveyors have not yet been revised to reflect this change. As a consequence, state Medicare surveyors who rely solely on the interpretive guidelines may still incorrectly cite an ASC for noncompliance when it does not notify patients of the required information prior to the date of surgery. ASCA is working with CMS to ensure the guidelines are updated soon. ASCs that experience survey issues can point surveyors to the actual regulations, available online, as well as ASCA’s memo explaining the change.
