Improving Anesthesia Regulatory Compliance
Regulatory compliance in your anesthesia department is extremely important to the bottom line of your facility and the safety of your patients. Your anesthesia group should place a constant emphasis on documentation improvement, reviewing departmental policies and procedures and educating providers on new policies. If you believe your anesthesia regulatory compliance could be improved but you are unsure of how to accomplish this task, you are in the right place. CCI Anesthesia has a proven track record of improving regulatory compliance for anesthesia departments across the country, and we can help yours too.
Start by Educating Your Staff
The first step in improving your anesthesia regulatory compliance efforts is to educate anesthesia staff about national patient safety goals. The anesthesia profession continues to rapidly evolve as new drugs, devices and pain management strategies are studied and approved for use. In turn, payor policies and guidelines are amended and updated based on the latest patient safety information developed through these studies. Every anesthesia provider in your department should be up-to-date on this information and understand exactly what is expected of them in terms of regulatory processes and documentation. Our clinical leaders experience an in-depth regulatory review at our annual CCI Leadership Institute where they are also able to collaborate, share ideas and discuss management techniques with other leaders from across the country.
Stay Updated on Hospital Accreditation Standards and Requirements
Your anesthesia department leaders should stay abreast of your hospital’s accreditation requirements and make changes accordingly when needed. Our goal at CCI Anesthesia is to always support our clients’ accreditation initiatives and do our part in helping you achieve stellar scores. As hospital accreditation standards and requirements change, we will make certain that every anesthesia provider understands any new expectations.
Be Prepared for Regulatory Site Visits
Always being prepared for an audit or site visit from regulatory entities is easier said than done. At CCI Anesthesia, we are proactive in ensuring our providers are prepared for interacting with accreditation and regulatory representatives. Our own Chief Compliance Officer, Dr. Steve Dorman, was previously a Joint Commission surveyor and CMS consultant. He routinely conducts mock audits for our client facilities and anesthesia providers and helps to educate them on regulatory compliance.
Consistently Review Documentation Procedures
Accurate and detailed documentation is an essential element of high quality and safe anesthesia care. Documentation procedures should be regularly reviewed to ensure all applicable regulatory, legal and billing compliance requirements are met. Our team of billing and compliance experts at CCI Anesthesia regularly examine documentation samples at each of our client facilities to ensure accuracy in coding. Our practice management teams monitor operational efficiency in real-time through our tablet-based EMR system while our clinical informatics team maintains a constant watch on quality metrics. The end result for our clients is reduced costs, increased efficiency, improved quality and better clinical outcomes across your health system, hospital or surgery center.
Schedule and Complete Ongoing Provider Performance Evaluations
Ongoing Provider Performance Evaluations (OPPEs) identify professional practice trends that may impact the quality and safety of care and apply to anesthesia providers working in accredited facilities. This process includes the evaluation of a provider’s professional practices including positive and negative trends in quality of care. Our compliance team thoroughly reviews OPPEs and actively engages with providers to quickly remedy any areas that show need for improvement. CCI Anesthesia is always accountable for anesthesia care quality, and we work hard to keep quality metrics high.
Contact us today at 800.494.3948 for more information on our approach to anesthesia regulatory compliance efforts. Our anesthesia compliance experts are eager to help you improve the quality of your anesthesia services.