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Center of Excellence
The
American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery's Bariatric
Surgery Center of Excellence®
program has 10 requirements for bariatric surgery programs based in hospital facilities.
The requirements pertain to bariatric surgeons, the hospital where they have privileges, and the surgical practice, which is where pre- and postoperative care is typically provided. The hospital requirements also cover any affiliated outpatient facility that provides bariatric surgery care and is located within one mile of the hospital.
Centers are fully approved for the
Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence® designation when they comply with the hospital requirements that are in effect when they submit their applications for designation. A comprehensive site inspection is conducted to verify compliance.
Bariatric Surgery center of
Excellence ® is a registered trademark of the American Society for
Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). Used by permission of ASMBS.
All rights reserved.
BSCOE Designation Requirements
for Hospitals
For the full
version of the requirements including interpretive notes, please
click here.
1. Institutional
Commitment to Excellence
An institutional commitment at the highest levels of the applicant medical staff and the institution's administration to excellence in the care of bariatric surgical patients as documented with an ongoing, regularly scheduled, in-service education program in bariatric surgery.
An institutional commitment is also demonstrated by employing credentialing guidelines for bariatric surgery.
2. Surgical Experience and Volumes
The applicant institution has performed at least 125 bariatric surgical cases in the preceding 12-month period.
Each applicant surgeon has performed at least 125 total bariatric cases lifetime with at least 50 cases performed in the preceding 12-month period.
3. Designated Medical
Director
The applicant maintains a designated physician Medical Director for bariatric surgery who participates in the relevant decision-making administrative meetings of the institution.
4. Responsive
Critical Care Support
The applicant hospital maintains, within 30 minutes of request, a full complement on staff of the various consultative services required for the care of bariatric surgical patients including the immediate availability of an ACLS-qualified physician on-site who can perform patient resuscitations.
5. Appropriate Equipment and Instruments
The applicant maintains a full line of equipment and instruments for the care of bariatric surgical patients including furniture, wheel chairs, operating room tables, floor mounted or floor supported toilets, beds, radiologic capabilities, surgical instruments and other facilities suitable for morbidly obese patients.
6. Surgeon Dedication and Qualified Call Coverage
The applicant has a bariatric surgeon who spends a significant portion of his or her efforts in the field of bariatric surgery and who has qualified coverage and support for patient care.
7. Clinical Pathways and Standardized Operating Procedures
The applicant utilizes clinical pathways and orders that facilitate the standardization of perioperative care for the relevant procedure. In addition, all bariatric surgical procedures are standardized for each surgeon.
8. Bariatric Nurses, Physician Extenders and Program Coordinator
The applicant utilizes designated nurse or physician extenders who are dedicated to serving bariatric surgical patients and who are involved in continuing education in the care of bariatric patients.
9. Patient Support Groups
The applicant makes available organized and supervised support groups for all patients who have undergone bariatric surgery at the institution.
10. Long-Term Patient Follow-Up, Including BOLDSM
The applicant provides documentation of a program dedicated to a goal of long-term patient follow-up of at least 75 percent for bariatric procedures at five years with a monitoring and tracking system for outcomes, and agrees to provide surgical outcomes data on all patients to SRC through the Bariatric Outcomes Longitudinal DatabaseSM (BOLDSM) in a manner consistent with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations.
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