newjerseynewsroom.com

BY ALICIA CRUZ

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

A New Jersey Ambulatory Surgery Center and Surgical Practice Transparency Report states in 2009-2010, a New Jersey Department of Health inspection found that 49 of the 91 ambulatory surgical centers failed to meet federal safety standards and guidelines to participate in Medicare.

Eight of the 51 licensed centers inspected in those two years were in imminent danger of causing serious harm to patients due to problems found. One of the centers temporarily closed by inspectors was Affiliated Ambulatory Surgery in Morristown. Inspectors found equipment was not properly sterilized and employees failed to wash their hands between procedures.

In other centers, inspectors found staff walking through sterile operating rooms in street clothes, improperly sanitized patient beds, single-use items used on more than one patient and expired medication on hand. In one case, scopes weren’t properly sanitized between colonoscopies at a Fort Lee surgery center, a ventilator was not on hand at a Saddle Brook center and a Palisades Park eye surgery center did not fully sterilize equipment, NorthJersey.com reported.

According to the report, of the 40 Unlicensed Surgical Practices that were evaluated in the two years, 17 were found to be in “Immediate Jeopardy,” which resulted in seven temporary closures. 43 percent of the unlicensed Surgical Practices reviewed were in noncompliance with serious safety requirements, while only 15 percent of the licensed ASCs inspected were found in noncompliance. The trend obviously shows consumers are at a greater risk of injury at unlicensed Surgical Practices.

Many of these surgery centers are physician-owned, a practice that blossomed ten years ago after doctors became frustrated with low insurance reimbursements and high malpractice costs. Patients fancy these centers out of convenience.

The disturbing discoveries have lawmakers and patient advocates calling for reforms, consistent inspections, a criterion ensuring that one-room centers receive the formidable analysis given to larger facilities, and accountability of obscure surgical centers.

Larry Trenk, president of the New Jersey Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers said his group takes the report seriously and pledged to support universal licensing, NBC reported.

In New Jersey, 40 percent of surgeries occur in freestanding facilities, yet only 113 centers - those with more than one operating room - are licensed by the state. These centers, inspected every two to three years, have detailed staffing requirements and must report medical errors that result in serious injuries to the state.

116 centers, certified by Medicare, are not licensed by the state because they have just one operating room. Current laws allow exemptions for these types of facilities and inspections were rare, NBC reported. They are now inspected every four years.

The New Jersey ASCSPT state inspection reports were prompted by a 2009 federal grant obtained by the state.