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In addition to the AAAHC standards found in the Handbook, outpatient surgery organizations in California must also be in compliance with the following laws: AB 595 (Speier) effective July 1, 1996
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This law states: "no physician and surgeon shall perform procedures in an outpatient setting using anesthesia, except local anesthesia or peripheral nerve blocks, or both, complying with the community standard of practice, in doses that, when administered, have the probability of placing a patient at risk for loss of the patient's life-preserving protective reflexes, unless the setting is specified in Section 1248.1 of the Health and Safety Codes. Outpatient settings where anxiolytics and analgesics are administered are excluded when administered, in compliance with the community standard of practice, in doses that do not have the probability of placing the patient at risk for loss of the patient's life-preserving protective reflexes." |
This law prohibits any physician or surgeon from performing surgery in an outpatient surgery setting using specified anesthesia levels unless the setting is one of an enumerated care setting(s), including a setting accredited by an approved accrediting agency, state- licensed as an outpatient surgery setting or Medicare- certified as an ambulatory surgery center. Therefore, AB 595 required the Medical Board of California, Division of Licensing, to adopt standards for approval of accreditation agencies to perform the accreditation of outpatient surgery settings. In 2007, the AAAHC received re-approval from the Medical Board of California as a recognized accrediting agency. Therefore, organizations choosing to have their accreditation reported to the Medical Board for evidence of compliance with the law must indicate such to the AAAHC during the time of the survey application process.
Cosmetic and Outpatient Surgery Patient Protection Act (AB 271) effective January 1, 2000, which has the following requirements:
> The certificate of accreditation must be posted in a location readily visible to patients and staff
> The name and telephone number of the accrediting agency, with instruction on the submission of complaints, must be posted in a location readily visable to patients and staff
> Written discharge criteria must exist
> A minimum of two staff persons must be on the premises, one of whom shall be a licensed physician and surgeon and/or a licensed health care professional with current certification in advanced cardiac life support (ACLS), as long as a patient is present who has not been discharged from supervised care. Transfer of a patient who does not meet the above required written discharge criteria to an unlicensed setting is not acceptable
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