FYI

Article from Medical Liability Mutual Insurance Company Website:
Office-Based Surgery Accreditation
As a service to our policyholders, I wish to alert you that the deadline for obtaining formal accreditation, as required by New York State, for every medical practice that performs office-based surgery (OBS) is quickly approaching. OBS, as specifically defined by the Public Health Law, includes any surgical or invasive procedure utilizing general anesthesia or moderate to deep sedation. Unfortunately, there are a limited number of New York State-approved accrediting agencies and the deadline for completing accreditation by one of these agencies is July 14, 2009. Since the process takes several months, time is of the essence in seeking accreditation

I am concerned that any delay may result in a failure to obtain accreditation. Thus, it is critical for any physician that plans to perform OBS to begin the process well in advance of July 14, 2009. The requirements for accreditation apply to your practice as a whole, regardless of the number of physicians in the group. Further, each OBS location must be accredited if the physician practices at multiple locations.

Please note that after July 14, 2009, performance of OBS by any physician, physician assistant, or specialist assistant in a non-accredited practice will be prohibited and considered professional misconduct. Furthermore, your failure to obtain accreditation of an office-based surgical practice, or to practice at a location that has not received the required accreditation, may potentially impact the defense of a lawsuit involving an office-based surgical complication.

For further information regarding the details of the law, please click here to visit the Department of Health Web site. In addition, the attorneys of Fager & Amsler, LLP, may be contacted at (877) 426-9555 to answer any questions you might have with respect to these guidelines.
If you intend to perform OBS, I strongly recommend that you promptly seek accreditation for your practice.

Sincerely,
Dr. Robert Menotti

President
Medical Liability Mutual Insurance Company