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Become a Member
ACS Home
My Dashboard
Donate to the foundation
Quality Programs
For Medical Professionals
For Patients
Advocacy & Policy
About Us
Become a member and receive career-enhancing benefits

Our top priority is providing value to members. Your Member Services team is here to ensure you maximize your ACS member benefits, participate in College activities, and engage with your ACS colleagues. It's all here.

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Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program

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Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program
ACS Quality Portal

ACS Quality Portal

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Surgical Risk Calculator

Surgical Risk Calculator

Bariatric surgical risk/benefit calculator
MBSAQIP Registry

MBSAQIP Registry

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The American College of Surgeons Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP) is dedicated to enhancing the safety and quality of care for bariatric patients in the United States and Canada. Sites that participate in one of our Quality Programs, including MBSAQIP, earn the distinction as an ACS Surgical Quality Partner (ACS SQP). 

Applicable to both inpatient and outpatient bariatric surgery centers, nearly 1,000 sites in the US and Canada have undergone independent, voluntary, and rigorous peer evaluations. MBSAQIP accreditation promotes uniform standards and continuous quality improvement.

Obesity and MBSAQIP

41.9%

Of the adult US population affected by obesity1

48%

Lower surgical complication rates after MBSAQIP implementation2

$173 billion

Estimated annual medical cost of obesity3

Why Should Your Site Seek Accreditation?

Bariatric centers face several challenges including insufficient and inaccurate data, variability in care and outcomes, complex procedures with serious potential complications, limited resources, and diminished margins.

With the MBSAQIP, centers can receive high-quality clinical data, standards developed and approved by surgeon experts to guide the treatment of specialized issues, efficient resource allocation, and resources to develop a proactive quality culture.

Key Benefits

Through the MBSAQIP, centers will be able to:

  • Collect high-quality bariatric outcomes data to enable benchmarking
  • Utilize standards developed and endorsed by surgeon experts for training, infrastructure, and patient care pathways
  • Participate in an extensive site visit by an experienced bariatric surgeon who will review the program’s structure, processes, and outcomes data
  • Track surgical outcomes focused on weight loss and resolution of obesity-related comorbidities including diabetes, sleep apnea, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and GERD
  • Receive financial incentives and recognition from top insurance carriers. Aetna, Cigna, and BCBS require MBSAQIP accreditation for their Aetna Institutes of Quality (IOQ) Bariatric Surgery, Cigna Bariatric Center of Excellence, and/or BCBS BlueDistinction designation
Articles & Podcasts of Interest

Study Clarifies Link between Obesity and Surgical Complications

The Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons breaks down a study published in the Journal of the American College Surgeons that explores the links between obesity, length of surgical operations, and recovery time, as well as the usefulness of the Body Mass Index.

The Operative Word: Long-Term Outcomes after Adolescent Bariatric Surgery

In this episode, Dr. Coleman is joined by Nestor F. De la Cruz-Muñoz Jr, MD, Professor of Surgery and Section Chief of Bariatric Surgery at the University of Miami. They discuss his study, which demonstrates the lasting, positive impact of bariatric surgery even decades later, and confirms that bariatric surgery should not be denied to adolescents struggling with morbid obesity.

House of Surgery Podcast: 2022 ACS Inaugural Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Lecture

This episode features Dr. Bruce Schirmer, a bariatric surgeon from Charlottesville, Virginia, who delivered the inaugural Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Lecture during Clinical Congress 2022. In his talk, “Don’t Stop Now,” Dr. Schirmer discusses the progress of bariatric surgery over the past 40 years and encourages more work to understand the disease of obesity.

References
  1. FastStats - overweight prevalence. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. January 5, 2023. Accessed May 20, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/obesity-overweight.htm.
  2. Al-Mazrou AM, Bellorin O, Dakin G, Pomp A, Unruh MA, Afaneh C. Implementation of the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program and outcomes of bariatric surgery. Am J Surg. 2023;225(2):362-366. doi:10.1016/j.amjsurg.2022.09.059
  3. About Obesity. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed May 20, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/php/about/index.html.
Accreditation
Quality Programs

Accreditation

We encourage sites to apply for MBSAQIP accreditation. Take part in bariatric surgery quality measurement and improvement efforts.
Standards
Quality Programs

Standards

The MBSAQIP verifies compliance with the revised Optimal Resources for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery that went into effect in October 2022.
Participant Use Data File
Quality Programs

Participant Use Data File

The Participant Use Data File is a HIPAA-compliant data file containing cases submitted to the MBSAQIP Data Registry.

Quality and Safety Conference

Register today for the 2024 ACS Quality and Safety Conference, July 18–21, to join with leaders in surgical quality improvement.

Risk/Benefit Calculator

The MBSAQIP surgical risk/benefit calculator provides metabolic and bariatric surgeons and patients with accurate, patient-specific information to guide surgical decision making and informed consent.

Collaboratives

With participation in ACS NSQIP, ACS NSQIP Pediatric, and MBSAQIP, hospitals can come together to share information in our collaboratives.

Quality Resources

Quality Programs

ACS Quality Framework

The ACS Quality Framework is a set of criteria that provides guidance to help all hospitals successfully complete their quality improvement projects.
Quality Programs

Case Studies

Review case studies from various ACS quality program participants and how they can apply to your program.
Education

Quality Improvement Education

The ACS is committed to equipping every healthcare provider with the basic knowledge and skills to start on the path toward quality improvement. 

Questions?

If you have questions about the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program, please fill out our contact form.