The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care has released its 2024 "Certification Handbook for Advanced Orthopaedics," originally launched in 2018.
The handbook leverages recent updates to the ambulatory accreditation and Medicare deemed status accreditation programs, providing the most current information and guidance to ASCs on how to implement industry best practices in orthopedic surgery.
The handbook is expected to be updated every three years, focusing on patient outcomes and new guidance from the AAAHC and the Medicare deemed status program, according to a Jan. 31 news release shared with Becker's.
The orthopedic accreditation guidance was created by a panel of orthopedic and spine surgeons to provide comprehensive care guidelines from pre-assessment to discharge and rehabilitation.
Orthopedic-focused ASCs can seek AAAHC certification for total joint, complex spine or both services.
The updated handbook organizes each accreditation category into smaller groups. It also adds guidance to support understanding of community needs assessment, as well as clarification of on-call physicians and examples of training hours.
New accreditation standards will take effect on April 3.