About ACS Accredited Bariatric Centers

Mission

The mission of the American College of Surgeons Bariatric Surgery Center Network (ACS BSCN) Accreditation Program is to foster high-quality surgical care for the bariatric patient through the accreditation of bariatric surgery centers that maintain certain physical resources, human resources, and standards of practice, as well as the documentation of outcomes—including improved surgical care—for the bariatric patient. The Continuous Quality Improvement section of the ACS Division of Research and Optimal Patient Care administers the program.

What is ACS BSCN Accreditation?

The ACS BSCN Accreditation Program accredits facilities in the United States that have undergone an independent, voluntary, and rigorous peer evaluation in accordance with nationally recognized bariatric surgical standards. With the expanded range of facilities now engaged in bariatric surgery—from full service inpatient hospitals to outpatient facilities—ACS BSCN Accreditation symbolizes institutional commitment and accountability for safe, high-quality surgical care, as evidenced by the documentation of performance indictors and the measurement of outcomes. Bariatric surgery accreditation not only promotes uniform standard benchmarks, but also supports continuous quality improvement.

Benefits of ACS BSCN Accreditation

Potential for reimbursement by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for Level 1 Accredited Bariatric Centers Recognition by The Joint Commission’s Quality Check Web site at www.qualitycheck.org Incentives and rewards for hospitals that participate in The Leapfrog Group’s Hospital Rewards Program Participation in the ACS BSCN Accreditation Program’s longitudinal outcomes database for accreditation-based quality improvement Provision of evidence-based accountability toward quality assurance Ensure patients, payors and the medical community of the center’s self-accountability to maintain high levels of care that conform to nationally recognized standards Demonstrate to insurance carriers the medical center's commitment to quality improvement, thereby strengthening the justification to payors and employers on earned reimbursements Gain negotiating leverage within the center’s affiliated hospital and/or medical system to obtain resources toward improving patient outcomes, especially as the revenue from surgical procedures accounts for the largest share of a hospital's operating margin (typically more than 60 percent) Contribution to health systems improvement Streamline data collection for centers that also participate in ACS National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) Identify and share best practices with other centers in the ACS BSCN Advance field knowledge on the outcomes of surgical procedures and patient trends Contribute to the evidence and scientific literature regarding the efficacy and outcomes of innovative and emerging IRB quality-based surgical procedures Identify benchmarks Background

Since its founding in 1913, the American College of Surgeons (ACS) has had a long and prestigious history of engaging in quality improvement for the surgical patient, and the ACS proudly carries that goal into the 21st century. In February 2005, the ACS Board of Regents recognized the urgent and pressing need to extend its established quality improvement practices beyond its successful Trauma Verification and Cancer Accreditation programs. The Regents unanimously agreed to expand the ACS standard setting and accreditation efforts into additional disciplines. Following this action, the ACS BSCN Accreditation Program was established in 2005 in response to the national obesity epidemic and the growing need to advance high-quality surgical care for patients who undergo bariatric surgical procedures.