AHRQ releases toolkit to improve patient safety in ASCs

Editor's Note

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) on May 3 announced the release of a new toolkit to help ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) make care safer for their patients.

The Toolkit to Improve Safety in Ambulatory Surgery Centers incorporates the core concepts of AHRQ’s Comprehensive Unit-based Safety Program (CUSP)−a multifaceted approach that facilitates adoption of evidence-based practices to reduce patient harm.

One element of the toolkit is a guide on how to implement the ASC-specific safe surgery checklist. 

Each year, about 23 million surgical procedures are performed in ambulatory surgery centers, or ASCs. It's easy to understand why. For instance, procedures such as cataract surgery, tonsillectomy, knee repair, or endoscopic procedures are less intensive than major surgeries and don't require a hospital stay.