Found Substantially Compliant in All Areas; Receives Maximum Allotted Accreditation
Marina del Rey, CA – December 13, 2012 – Fulfilling its commitment to excellence in patient care, DISC Sports & Spine Center (DISC) has achieved reaccreditation by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) for both its Marina del Rey and Newport Beach ambulatory surgery centers. This latest accreditation, extended for another three-year period, demonstrates that DISC’s surgery centers continue to provide the highest quality of standards and care as determined by an independent, external process of evaluation.
Status as an accredited organization means DISC has met nationally recognized standards for the provision of quality health care set by AAAHC. While more than 5,000 ambulatory health care organizations across the United States are accredited by AAAHC, the screening is entirely voluntary. Many ambulatory surgery centers do not even apply, and of those who choose to undergo the rigorous on-site survey process, not all are granted accreditation. DISC not only met the AAAHC’s high standards, but was also found substantially compliant across all measured areas.
“Since opening the doors of our first center in 2006, the DISC team has chosen to hold itself to the highest standards for delivering patient care,” said founder and pioneering neurosurgeon Robert S. Bray, Jr., M.D. “We’ve taken steps beyond what’s required of ASCs to elevate our care across safety, quality, infection control, nursing protocols and post-operative education, just to name a few.”
As a result, DISC has achieved a zero MRSA infection rate, a far better outcome than the national average for hospital surgeries. Research has linked surgical-site infections (SSIs) with 8,000 deaths in U.S. annually (Journal for Healthcare Quality). Research also suggests that SSIs occur in 4% to 25% of major surgery cases and cost the U.S. health care system about $10 billion per year (Clark, HealthLeaders Media, 3/20).
The AAAHC accreditation process involves an extensive assessment and on-site survey by AAAHC expert surveyors – physicians, nurses, and administrators who are actively involved in ambulatory health care. The survey is consultative and educational, presenting best practices to help an organization improve its care and services.
Added Bray: “This external oversight validates our effort and helps ensure that we continue to strive for excellence. While certainly a great achievement, we see our AAAHC accreditation as just one important step in an ongoing effort to raise the bar on patient care. The work hardly stops here.”
DISC, in fact, recently embarked on a Surgical Care Improvement Project (SCIP), a level of reporting actually required of hospitals, not ASCs. As a result of the SCIP findings, DISC has implemented additional quality control tactics designed to further elevate standards. For information on these measures, visit: http://discmdgroup.com/infection-control/
Press Contact:
Kristien Brada-Thompson, Priority PR
310-954-1375 x2 / Kristien@prioritypr.net
About the author
discmdgroup DISC Sports and Spine Center (DISC) is one of America’s foremost providers of minimally invasive spine procedures and advanced arthroscopic techniques. Our individually picked, highly specialized physicians apply both established and innovative solutions to diagnose, treat, and rehabilitate their patients in a one-stop, multi-disciplinary setting. With a wide range of specialists under one roof, the result is an unmatched continuity of care with more efficiency, less stress for the patient, and a zero MRSA infection rate. Read more articles by discmdgroup.
