International accreditation of ambulatory surgical centers and medical tourism.

The two forces that have driven the increase in accreditation of outpatient ambulatory surgery centers (ASC's) in the United States are reimbursement of facility fees by Medicare and commercial insurance companies, which requires either accreditation, Medicare certification, or state licensure, and state laws which mandate one of these three options. Accreditation of ASC's internationally has been driven by national requirements and by the competitive forces of "medical tourism." The three American accrediting organizations have all developed international programs to meet this increasing demand outside of the United States.

Facial soft-tissue fillers conference: assessing the state of the science.

: The American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the American Academy of Dermatology, with the support of other sister societies, conducted the Facial Soft-Tissue Fillers: Assessing the State of the Science conference in December of 2009. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the American Academy of Dermatology established a panel of leading experts in the field of soft-tissue fillers-from researchers to clinicians-and other stakeholders for the conference to examine and discuss issues of patient safety, efficacy, and effectiveness in relation to the approved and off-label use of soft-tissue fillers, and other factors, including the training and level of experience of individuals administering fillers. This report represents the systematic literature review that examines comprehensively the available evidence and gaps in the evidence related to soft-tissue fillers, to inform and support the work of the state-of-the-science conference panel.

Facial Soft-Tissue Fillers conference: Assessing the State of the Science.

The American Academy of Dermatology and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, with the support of other sister societies, conducted the Facial Soft-Tissue Fillers: Assessing the State of the Science conference in December of 2009. The American Academy of Dermatology and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons established a panel of leading experts in the field of soft-tissue fillers-from researchers to clinicians-and other stakeholders for the conference to examine and discuss issues of patient safety, efficacy, and effectiveness in relation to the approved and off-label use of soft-tissue fillers, and other factors, including the training and level of experience of individuals administering fillers. This report represents the systematic literature review that examines comprehensively the available evidence and gaps in the evidence related to soft-tissue fillers, to inform and support the work of the state-of-the-science conference panel.

Facial Soft-Tissue Fillers: Assessing the State of the Science conference---Proceedings report.

The American Academy of Dermatology and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, with the support of other sister societies, conducted the Facial Soft-Tissue Fillers: Assessing the State of the Science conference in December of 2009. The American Academy of Dermatology and the American Society of Plastic Surgeons established a panel of leading experts in the field of soft-tissue fillers-from researchers to clinicians-and other stakeholders for the conference to examine and discuss issues of patient safety, efficacy, and effectiveness in relation to the approved and off-label use of soft-tissue fillers, and other factors, including the training and level of experience of individuals administering fillers. This report summarizes the deliberations and key points made by the panel and presenters to the panel, and includes a summary of the panel's near-term and longer term recommendations for next steps to help guide future efforts to address the safety, efficacy, and effectiveness of facial soft-tissue fillers.

Evidence-based patient safety advisory: patient selection and procedures in ambulatory surgery.

Despite the many benefits of ambulatory surgery, there remain inherent risks associated with any surgical care environment that have the potential to jeopardize patient safety. This practice advisory provides an overview of the preoperative steps that should be completed to ensure appropriate patient selection for ambulatory surgery settings. In conjunction, this advisory identifies several physiologic stresses commonly associated with surgical procedures, in addition to potential postoperative recovery problems, and provides recommendations for how best to minimize these complications.

What to do when your state wants to regulate office-based surgical facilities.

State regulation of office-based surgical facilities has been ongoing since 1995, making participation in the legislative and regulatory arenas essential for surgeons who practice in this setting. According to the author, onerous state requirements may be averted if key elements facilitating a proactive plan are in place. He presents guidelines for monitoring and influencing the regulatory process.