Ambulatory surgery centers continue to strengthen their delivery of safe, high-quality care through the use of evidence-based tools and resources. To support these efforts, ASCQC has developed a comprehensive Wrong-Site Surgery Prevention Toolkit, now available on the ASCQC website.
The toolkit brings together a wide range of ASC-focused resources designed to support prevention efforts, including clinical guidelines, assessment tools, staff training materials and monitoring resources. Many of these materials were contributed by ASCQC membership organizations and nationally recognized healthcare authorities, including the World Health Organization, the American Society for Health Care Risk Management, and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
ASCQC selected wrong-site surgery as a focal area for this toolkit for several important reasons. Wrong-site surgery is a required quality measure under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Ambulatory Surgical Center Quality Reporting Program, making it an event that ASCs routinely track and report. In addition, ASCQC monitors and reports the incidence of wrong-site surgery through its quarterly benchmarking program.
While benchmarking data demonstrate that wrong-site surgery events — whether involving the site, side, patient, procedure or implant — are rare in the ASC setting, their impact can be profound. When such an event occurs, it can significantly affect patients, families, and the surgery center itself. Focusing prevention efforts on this high-impact, low-frequency event aligns with ASCQC’s mission to provide practical resources that help ASCs foster safe, high-quality care.
ASCs are encouraged to review the toolkit and consider how its resources may complement and strengthen existing wrong surgery prevention strategies. The materials can be used to enhance policies, refine workflows and support staff education aimed at reducing the risk of wrong-site surgery.
The toolkit also includes ASCQC’s newly developed Wrong Surgery Reporting Guidance, designed to promote consistent and accurate reporting of these events. This resource expands ASCQC’s broader collection of patient safety toolkits available at ascquality.org, supporting continuous improvement across the ASC community.