Beginning October 1, 2012 ASC will need to report quality data to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services (CMS) or face reductions in their future Medicare payments. Initially ASCs will report data on five measures using quality data G codes on their Medicare claims:
- patient fall;
- patient burn;
- hospital transfer;
- wrong site/side/patient/procedure/implant; and
- on time administration of prophylaxis antibiotics.
Since ASCs will use these codes for Medicare claims only the five initial measures will apply to Medicare patients only.
In 2013, ASCs will continue to report the initial five measures and will have to report data on two additional measures (1) safe surgery check list use and (2) 2012 volume of specified procedures. ASCs will report both data on these two measures on CMS’s Quality Net site. Unlike the initial five measures these two additional measures apply to all patients.
It is important to note that while ASCs will report data in 2013 the measures measure performance during 2012. Thus to be able to answer “yes” to whether they used a safe surgery checklist an ASC must have had a safe surgery check list in use at some point during 2012.
Additional Resources
Safe Surgery Checklist Information
Quality Data G-Codes
CMS ASC Quality Reporting Manual
2012 Measures (ASC Focus November/December 2011)