In 2013, ASCs will be required to go to the CMS QualityNet web site between July 1 and August 15 and report whether they used a safe surgery checklist at any time between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2012, for all patients, not just those covered by Medicare.
ASCs are required to report safe surgery practices during each of the three critical perioperative periods. CMS provides the examples below. Because CMS is not dictating that ASCs use a particular checklist, ASCs are free to select a checklist (or multiple checklists) that meets their individual needs.
It is also important to note that, although CMS uses the name safe “surgery” checklist, the measure applies to all ASC procedures, including those that are generally considered to be diagnostic and pain management procedures (e.g., certain endoscopies and injections for controlling pain).
Several organizations have developed boiler plate checklists that can be adjusted to suit the needs of a particular ASC:
