ASCs may choose through Nov. 16 to have 2013 and 2014 data for five claims-based measures suppressed from the Hospital Compare website, the American Hospital Association (AHA) reported. The five measures are ASC-1, Patient burn; ASC-2, Patient fall; ASC-3, Wrong site, wrong side, wrong patient, wrong procedure, wrong implant; ASC-4, Hospital transfer/admission; and ASC-5, Prophylactic IV antibiotic timing.
The ASC Association advises centers to look for results that could have been skewed by clerical errors such as typos or transposed codes.
CMS cited ASC concerns with implementing associated billing process changes. “Recognizing concerns from the ASC community that some facilities encountered difficulties in expediting these changes for the initial implementation years resulting in reporting issues, CMS has determined that ASCs may choose to suppress data for CY 2013, CY 2014, or both years from being displayed on the Hospital Compare website,” the agency said. “Thus, only ASC-6 and 7 data submitted for CY 2012 via the QualityNet Secure Portal will be publicly reported in October 2015.” Those measures are ASC-6: Safe Surgery Checklist use; and ASC-7: ASC facility volume data on selected ASC surgical procedures.
ASCs should email requests to suppress the data to [email protected], and they should note the following:
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facility name;
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CMS Certification Number;
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National Provider Identifier;
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whether to suppress the data for calendar year 2013, 2014, or both.
For questions, you may contact the program’s support contractor by calling (866) 800-8756 or go to the website https://cms-ocsq.custhelp.com.