Accredited Surgical Facility
At Farris Plastic Surgery, surgical procedures are performed at our own surgical facility, located within our premises. Our facility allows patients to have privacy, convenience and safety as they undergo their surgery. Safety is one of our most important priorities. This is why our facility is fully accredited by the American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities (AAAASF).
AAAASF is an accrediting organization established in 1980 to standardize and improve the quality of health care in outpatient or ambulatory facilities. It accredits thousands of facilities worldwide and is considered the “Gold Standard in Accreditation.”
AAAASF mandates the following conditions:
- Outpatient and office based facilities are held to hospital standards.
- Surgeons are required to be board certified and have hospital privileges for any procedure they perform.
- Anesthesia professionals are required for deeper levels of anesthesia.
- A safe and clean surgical environment that meets stringent standards is required.
- Compliance with applicable local, state, and federal regulations including fire safety, sanitation and building codes for the protection of patients and medical personnel.
- Adherence to federal laws and regulations affecting their operation such as OSHA blood-borne pathogens standards, hazardous waste standards, and the Americans with Disabilities Act
- Peer review (peer oversight) is performed regularly and data is tracked for thousands of individual cases
AAAASF grants accreditation and official recognition only to those facilities that have met 100 percent of its high standards for patient safety. Facilities must pass a rigorous evaluation process that includes a thorough onsite survey by a qualified AAAASF surveyor. The accreditation process never ends. To remain accredited, facilities must complete periodic self-surveys as well as undergo periodic formal onsite re-surveys by a qualified surveyor. Facilities must also partake in a quarterly peer review process in which other active members within the outpatient health care profession conduct a review.
Unfortunately, a large number of ambulatory surgery facilities in the United States and around the world remain unaccredited, thus operating independently of any inspection process and peer review. In the United States, a growing number of states and regulatory agencies are recognizing the need for mandatory accreditation. In the state of Texas, accreditation is required for any ambulatory clinic that provides sedation or general anesthesia.
Compared to hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers, office based surgery suites offer the advantage of cost-effectiveness, increased patient and surgeon convenience, privacy and consistent staffing. When properly accredited, they ensure a high level of safety. Based on a large prospective study comparing cosmetic procedures performed at office based surgery suites, ambulatory surgery centers and hospitals, the lowest complication rates were found in office based surgery suites. Dr. Farris performs all of his cosmetic procedures at his AAAASF accredited surgical facility and safety is one of his top priorities.