NY panel to target the safety of office surgery
State steps in after surgeons have adverse outcomes
Following several recent adverse events, a special advisory panel is being brought together again in New York to recommend more ways to improve safety and outcomes in office-based surgery.
The Committee on Quality Assurance in Office-Based Surgery originally was established in 1997 to develop guidelines for physicians establishing office-based surgery practices.
The committee now is charged with studying and making recommendations on improving the safety and outcomes of office-based surgery.
The number of office-based surgical procedures performed nationwide has more than doubled in the past decade, with approximately 10 million performed annually, said New York Health Commissioner Antonia C. Novello, MD, MPH, DrPH, in a released statement.
"As the practice of medicine evolves in this direction, our ability to ensure patient safety must evolve with it," Novello said.
In a letter to the editor of the Syracuse (NY) Post Standard, Margaret M. Alteri, RN, BSN. MPS, CASC, president of the New York State Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers, commended the action.
"This organization has long supported the position that surgery should be performed in facilities that fall under the purview of the Department of Health, which licenses and regulates the practice of surgery in hospitals and freestanding ambulatory surgery centers," Alteri said.
"This assures that these procedures are being performed in a safe manner according to a stringent set of requirements established and enforced by the Department of Health."
Surgery centers in name only
In New York, many physician offices identify themselves as "surgery centers" although they are not licensed as surgery centers and are not required to meet any of the licensing and operating criteria, Alteri said.
The New York State Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers "calls upon the Department of Health to not only review office-based surgery, but to enforce the section of the New York State Health Code that prohibits the use of the title surgery center’ without appropriate licensure," Alteri said.
The latest action follows several cases of poor outcomes in office-based surgery, including one high profile one in which a Manhattan plastic surgeon, David Ostad, surrendered his medical license after being charged with 11 counts of misconduct with five patients.
Ostad failed to control blood loss sustained by two patients during surgical procedures, did not admit a patient to a hospital following post-surgical complications, botched two procedures that resulted in permanent nerve damage to the patients, and failed to provide records to the state Office of Professional Medical Conduct as part of the state’s investigation, the New York Department of Health noted.
Following several recent adverse events, a special advisory panel is being brought together again in New York to recommend more ways to improve safety and outcomes in office-based surgery.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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