UC San Diego Health receives the Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval for Advanced Certification in Spine Surgery

UC San Diego Health receives the Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval for Advanced Certification in Spine Surgery

UC San Diego Health has earned the Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval for Advanced Certification in Spine Surgery (ACSS) by meeting or exceeding the highest national performance standards. The Gold Seal represents a symbol of quality that reflects a healthcare organization's proven ability to implement results-oriented processes and improve patient outcomes.

As the region's only academic medical center, we proactively pursue advanced certifications in specialty care that affirm our commitment to providing exceptional care for all of our patients. This designation celebrates and recognizes UC San Diego Health as a premier destination for routine or complex spine surgery cases.”

Patty Maysent, CEO, UC San Diego Health

To be eligible for ACSS, organizations must implement evidence-based care and clinical practice guidelines and participate in the American Spine Registry, a national registry dedicated to improving the quality of spine care. Additionally, organizations must collect performance metrics on surgical site infection rates, new neurologic deficits, unplanned return visits to the operating room, and patient-reported pre- and post-surgery outcomes.

“This certification validates the existence of highly reliable processes that have been successfully implemented by a multidisciplinary team of specialty specialists whose organized focus provides the best possible care for each patient,” said Alexander Khalessi, MD, MBA, neurosurgeon and chair of the Department of Neurology Surgery at UC San Diego Health.

Certification was achieved through an interdisciplinary collaboration between the Department of Neurological Surgery and the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at UC San Diego Health.

“More than 100 people came together as part of our spine care teams to prepare for this certification process,” said Susan Bukata, MD, orthopedic surgeon and chair of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at UC San Diego Health. “The team-oriented approach ensured coordination of best practices and brought together diverse perspectives and expertise to provide the best possible care for patients with spinal disorders.”

The multidisciplinary team included specialists in orthopedics, neurosurgery, medicine, nursing, anesthesia, pharmacy, rehabilitation services and case management.

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Offered in partnership with the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, the certification is awarded to organizations with data-driven care processes, patient safety and proven high-quality patient outcomes with low complication profiles.

“This certification shows that our facility is strongly positioned to hit the mark for every patient, every time,” said Khalessi. “We also meticulously track outcomes and follow-up to enable continuous improvement that raises the standard of care in this area.”

UC San Diego Health underwent a rigorous, unannounced on-site review in September 2022. During the visit, a Joint Commission investigator assessed compliance with appropriate certification standards, including deidentified patient cases, surgical outcomes, high-quality data collection methods, and a review of care pathway processes.

Common Commission standards are developed in consultation with healthcare experts and providers, measurement experts and patients. The evaluator also conducted on-site observations and interviews with team members.

“As a private accreditor, The Joint Commission surveys healthcare organizations to protect the public by identifying care deficiencies and working with those organizations to address them as quickly and sustainably as possible,” says Mark Pelletier, RN, MS, chief operating officer, Accreditation and Certification Operations and chief nursing executive, The Joint Commission. “We commend UC San Diego Health for its continuous quality improvement efforts in patient safety and quality of care.”

UC San Diego Health is the regional referral center for complex spine reconstruction and a national leader in minimally invasive spine surgery and other surgical and non-surgical treatments for spinal disorders.

In the 2022-2022 U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals survey, UC San Diego Health was ranked the No. 1 hospital system in San Diego and No. 5 in California. The hospital system ranked 21st for neurological and neurosurgical care and 39th for orthopedics among the nation's top 50 programs out of more than 4,500 hospitals nationwide.

Source:

University of California – San Diego

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