Accreditation Programs

The American College of Surgeons has a long history of improving surgical care through the setting of standards.  At the time of its founding, organizing surgeons of the College established a Hospital Standards Committee, which became the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals in 1951, and is today known as the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO). Currently the Division of Research and Optimal Patient Care (DROPC) manages the Cancer Approvals and Trauma Verification programs that verify 1425 and 200 hospitals respectively.  The leaders of the ACS recognize the urgent need to extend established quality improvement practices beyond Cancer and Trauma.

Toward this end, DROPC has allocated resources and staff within Continuous Quality Improvement toward the development, implementation, and oversight of accreditation programs for surgical specialties. These accreditation programs will allow ACS to ensure that the best scientific evidence guides patient care.  Accreditation will be granted to hospitals that implement and maintain certain standards that relate to physical resources, human resources, standards of practice, and documentation of outcomes. Experts in the field related to the area of accreditation will develop standards based on the best evidence available. These experts will also develop the outcome measures best suited for the measurement of patient care, which will then be collected by accredited hospitals through the ACS/NSQIP or an alternative database system. Documenting outcomes is a key component of accreditation and will not only drive the quality of care but will also enable the possibility of the creation of new scientific knowledge through increased scrutiny.

With high priority given to the establishment of standards for bariatric surgery by the ACS Board of Regents, Continuous Quality Improvement recently developed and implemented the Bariatric Surgery Center Network Accreditation Program. Other areas of surgery will be targeted as DROPC continues to make efforts to fulfill its obligation to the surgical patient by ensuring the highest quality of care is provided.  These additional centers may address diseases, procedures, or disciplines.

  Bariatric Surgery Center Network Accreditation Program

• Other already existing documents
• Program Brochure (2785K PDF)

Revised January 18, 2006

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by the American College of Surgeons, Chicago, IL 60611-3211