The American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS) have verified the first three outpatient centers under the newly launched Vascular Verification Program (Vascular-VP), with initiatives that focus on ensuring the highest quality of vascular surgical and interventional care in both inpatient and outpatient settings.
The verified centers, namely Albany Medical Center Vascular Outpatient Lab in Albany, New York, Total Vascular Care in Brooklyn, New York, and Michigan Vascular Center in Flint, Michigan, have demonstrated their commitment to improving patient outcomes and delivering treatment, said Clifford Y. Ko, MD, director of the ACS division of research and optimal patient care.
“These three centers have, first as pilot sites and now as verified centers, established themselves as leaders in outpatient vascular care. They have paved the way for many more centers to join us in their journey to continuous improvement by using data and ACS standards and resources to deliver the best possible patient care,” said Ko.
The Vascular-VP, a collaborative effort between the ACS and SVS, offers two levels of participation, one for inpatient and one for outpatient centers. Built on a foundation of quality metrics, program resources, facility standards, and service provisions, the program emphasizes data collection and quality improvement activities. The shared standards across all levels ensure a comprehensive and standardized pathway for centers to enhance their vascular care infrastructure.
“This is a tremendous initiative and joint effort between the SVS and the ACS to address a very important issue in today’s healthcare landscape, as much care is now being delivered in the outpatient setting. These three verified centers are at the forefront of efforts to improve, monitor and optimize the outcomes of outpatient care for patients with vascular disease,” said SVS President Joseph L. Mills, MD.
To achieve verification, the three centers met the standards outlined in the Optimal Resources for Vascular Surgery and Interventional Care—Outpatient Standards framework. This set of standards addresses essential elements of vascular surgical care and quality, ensuring that verified centers maintain the highest standards in patient care.
“Participating in Vascular-VP brought together a lot of our resources, including nursing, vascular lab, office-based lab, front desk and others, to improve the care we are providing to the vascular patient,” said Anil Hingorani, MD, FACS, a vascular surgeon with Total Vascular Care. “These resources have helped set us apart from our competitors. It’s not just the quality or safety in this competitive market; you must be aware it’s a continuous cycle of looking at your results to find solutions and improvements to improve patient quality.”
Their Vascular-VP verification gives these centers the status of ACS Surgical Quality Partners, which signifies their commitment to continuous improvement, adherence to rigorous standards and dedication to delivering quality care. Patients seeking services at Surgical Quality Partner centers can trust that they are receiving care of the highest standards in surgical quality.
Both inpatient and outpatient centers interested in joining this initiative and continuing their vascular service quality improvement journey are encouraged to make an application online.
Learn more about the Vascular Verification Program at vascular.org/Verification.
