Gastro Health - Kirkland

Surgery centers should publish prices, and provide patients with complete billing information and access to a representative that can quickly resolve billing issues. In addition, surgery centers should not sue patients over late or unpaid bills.

Surgery centers should examine their own data to identify any differences in processes or outcomes for patients of different races and ethnicities, and patients who speak different languages. Surgery centers should also put action plans in place if differences are identified.

Surgery centers should ensure that all patients are fully aware of risks and alternatives prior to procedures.

Surgery centers should have a never events policy that includes all nine (9) actions that should occur following a “never event,” which includes apologizing to the patient and not charging for costs associated with the never event.

Surgery centers should have a high proportion of highly trained and skilled registered nurses (RNs) who have an advanced nursing degree.

Surgery centers should take meaningful steps to raise awareness about patient safety, hold leadership accountable for reducing unsafe practices, provide resources to implement a patient safety program, and develop systems and structures to support action to improve patient safety.

Surgery centers should have assessed their culture of safety and held leadership accountable for implementing policies, procedures, and staff education to improve the culture of safety.

Surgery centers should use retrospective and prospective data sources, including patient reports, to identify and mitigate errors that harm patients including medication errors and infections.

Surgery centers should regularly monitor hand hygiene practices for everyone interacting with patients, and give feedback to ensure compliance. Surgery centers foster a culture of good hand hygiene, offer training and education, and have provided equipment, such as paper towels, soap dispensers, and hand sanitizer.

Surgery centers should track and report all applicable accidents such as burns, falls, errors, surgery center admissions and surgical site infections, to a national database.

Surgery centers should document 90% or more of home medications, visit medications, and allergies/adverse reaction(s) in the patients’ clinical record.

Surgery centers should perform at least 50 procedures annually, and as part of their process for privileging surgeons, ensure that each surgeon performs at least 25 procedures annually.

Surgery centers should perform at least 50 procedures annually, and as part of their process for privileging surgeons, ensure that each surgeon performs at least 25 procedures annually.

Surgery centers should ensure that a specially certified clinician is present and immediately available while an adult patient is present until discharge.

Surgery centers should ensure that a specially certified clinician is present and immediately available while pediatric patient is present until discharge.

Surgery centers should go through all the elements of a complete safe surgery checklist on all patients every time a procedure is performed.

Surgery centers should perform better than most on four (4) areas including: (a) facilities and staff (b) communication about the procedure, (c) patients’ overall rating of the facility, and (d) patients' willingness to recommend the facility.

Unplanned hospital visits can occur when patients experience complications after a colonoscopy procedure. Facilities should have a rate of unplanned hospital visits that is lower than most hospitals and surgery centers.

Unplanned hospital visits can occur when patients experience complications after an orthopedic procedure. Facilities should have a rate of unplanned hospital visits that is lower than most surgery centers.

Unplanned hospital visits can occur when patients experience complications after a urology procedure. Facilities should have a rate of unplanned hospital visits that is lower than most surgery centers.