Bariatric surgery is a choice that many are making to attain control over their obesity. Many of the procedures are very successful and help individuals to regain their livelihood and good health. Choosing the surgeon and the facility for the surgery is one of the most significant decisions you will make and can greatly affect your efforts’ success. Several credentials are important to keep in mind when you are searching for the right surgeon and facility for your care before, during, and after the surgery.
Bariatric Surgery for Obesity Treatment
According to the CDC, in the United States alone, more than 11 million people suffer from severe obesity with 93 million people deemed as obese. The comorbidities associated with being obese range from heart disease, high blood pressure, Type II Diabetes, and certain cancers. Undergoing bariatric surgery, such as gastric sleeve and gastric bypass, helps patients rapidly, safely, and securely lose weight. Also, weight loss surgery is proven to show high remission rates in many who have major underlying health issues. Bariatric surgeon accreditation ensures that your medical doctor is dedicated to improving the health of patients. As a result, these standards assure surgeons are performing safe, high-quality, and successful surgical procedures.
Bariatric Surgeon Accreditations
What is Bariatric Surgeon Accreditation?
Bariatric surgeon accreditation is a voluntary choice for doctors to be evaluated under various standards set forth by industry professionals. These accrediting agencies assess and verify the surgeon’s skills, safety standards, patient care, qualifications, and board-certification. Accrediting bodies also set individual standards to ensure surgeons succeed in bariatric surgery. As a result, they evaluate bariatric surgeons and their ability to continually improve quality care and obesity treatment procedures. Bariatric physician accreditation is important when selecting the best bariatric surgical center. Also, accreditation can be given to an individual surgeon, hospital, facility, or surgical center.
Why Choose an Accredited Bariatric Surgeon
It is necessary to look for an accredited bariatric surgeon and which accreditations they hold. Typically, the bariatric surgeon accreditation shows their excellence in the obesity surgical treatment field. It will also prove a surgeon’s dedication to continuing to provide successful results to patients. Furthermore, approved surgeons often adopt new forms of technologies and procedures into their practice, which leads to continued post-op success for patients. By choosing an accredited bariatric surgeon, you ensure that your weight loss procedure provides:
- High Standards for Patient Care
- Qualified Surgeons and Staff Members
- Successful Results of Bariatric Surgery
- Safe Surgical Procedures, Facility, and Equipment
Bariatric Surgeon Accreditation Agencies
There are a handful of different accrediting agencies for bariatric surgeons. Therefore, we will explore some of the most influential and nationally recognized accreditation agencies that have the highest standards for bariatric surgery.
FACS Bariatric Surgeon Accreditation
Members of the ACS are called FACS, or Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. Because of this, bariatric specialists accredited by the American College of Surgeons will have “FACS” after their name. The Fellow of American College of Surgeons (FACS) is an organization that works to improve the quality of care for surgical patients. They offer a variety of accreditations and provide surgeons with a way to meet the standards of care that are set out in different designations.
Bariatric surgeons are accredited by FACS after the evaluation of professional standards and ethical principles. They are evaluated to determine their standards of education and training. Specifically, FACS bariatric surgeon accreditation signifies these surgeons have established a professional knowledge of standards and safety precautions needed to successfully perform bariatric surgical procedures. Ultimately, these initials guarantee to potential patients that this surgeon knows the ins and outs of this type of surgery and can perform one safely and with success.
The American College of Surgeons, or ACS, is a major accreditation agency for all surgeons. Surgeons wishing to become a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) must join and pay a membership fee.
How to Choose a Proper Weight Loss Surgeon
Things you must consider when choosing the best bariatric surgeon near you. Many factors you must consider, other than accreditations, include staff, types of surgeries, insurance coverage, and other issues.
Source: ObesityReporter.com
ACS BSCN Bariatric Surgeon Accreditation
ACS BSN stands for the American College of Surgeons Bariatric Surgery Center Network. This bariatric surgeon accreditation provides five levels of accreditation to bariatric surgery centers across the United States and Canada. The ACS works with high-volume centers to ensure weight loss surgeons are providing the highest level of care. Also, delivering comprehensive healthcare services to bariatric patients including high-risk patients. The ACS BSCN bariatric surgeon accreditation focuses on more than just standard benchmarks. Ultimately, emphasizing the continued support and quality improvements to patients for years to come. The American College of Surgeons offers a helpful web-based platform that helps agencies track their progress and continued success. The Joint Commission International (JCI) recognizes the hospitals, facilities, and bariatric surgeons accredited on their website.
ASMBS Bariatric Surgeon Accreditation
One of the most outstanding and renowned bariatric
surgeon credentials are awarded by the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). This organization provides several different certification credentials for both surgeons and facilities for bariatric surgery. The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery has a high standard and criteria requirement for attaining the different credentials that they provide. The ASMBS is considered the gold standard in accreditation for weight loss surgeons.
Surgeon of Excellence in Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (SOEMBS)
The Surgeon of Excellence in Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (SOEMBS) is a
program administered by the Surgical Review Corporation, which provides surgeons globally with an opportunity to receive certification individuals instead of or in addition to a part of a facility designation of excellence. Some of the reasons a surgeon might seek this designation may include the fact that the surgeon performs surgery at multiple facilities, that they wish to have an individual designation that shows their own abilities, or that they would like to earn a certification, but the facility they work with is not ready for the certification as of yet.
SOEMBS Requirements
The SOEMBS designation differs from the Center of Excellence designation in that there is no requirement for the surgeon to have co-certification with a facility and the surgeon must perform a minimum of 100 surgeries of bariatric nature each year. There are seven requirements for the SOEMBS designation for a surgeon and they are as follows:
- Equipment and Instruments of Appropriate Nature
- Appropriate Surgical Volumes and Outcomes
- Qualified Call Coverage and Dedication
- Physician Extenders or Bariatric Nurses
- Standardized Operating Procedures and Clinical Pathways
- Support Groups for Patients
- Long-Term Follow-up with Patients and Outcomes Data
- A Site Inspection for at Minimum One Facility Where the Surgeon Performs
Bariatric Accreditation Guarantees Quality Surgical Standards
Obesity Reporter believes bariatric surgeon accreditation is extremely important when pursuing weight loss surgery. Patients can ensure that their health is in good hands when choosing an accredited surgeon. Extensive research of accrediting agencies to have the best possible chance for successful bariatric results.
Hospital Accreditations for Bariatric Surgery
Why it’s Important to Choose an Accredited Bariatric Hospital
In terms of choosing an accredited bariatric hospital, it is important to look for their qualifications, certifications, and accreditations they have. Most bariatric hospital accreditations are very difficult to obtain. They display the facilities’ level of care, success, and results. An accredited bariatric hospital also has to follow a certain code of ethics when certified, providing consistent healthcare procedures.
Bariatric Hospital Accreditation Agencies
Hospital accreditation agencies have strict standards and qualifications to follow in order for facilities to receive certification. These agencies assess bariatric hospitals to determine their performance quality, patient care, and safety standards. Being a certified hospital ensures not only that you follow these standards, but also continuously improve to be a better healthcare provider.
MBSAQIP Hospital Accreditation
The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) and The American College of Surgeons (ACS) worked together to create an accreditation program called the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP).
This accreditation is one national accreditation standard for bariatric surgery centers nationally. The certification is an effort to ensure that patients receive safe and high-quality care for their needs. The center that receives this accreditation has proven itself to maintain physical resources, human resources, and high standards of practice. All outcomes from these accredited centers are reported to the MBSAQIP database for research and evaluation to advance quality measures across the board.
MBSAQIP Qualifications for Accreditations
Ensuring that the facility and the surgeon that you are considering for your surgery is qualified is essential to making your decision. The qualifications that come with the designations available ensure that the surgeon and the facility have the experience of performing the procedures and that they have passed extensive scrutiny in order to get the accreditation. The governing agencies for the designations work hard to ensure that there is a high standard of surgical patient care, both bariatric and general, by setting these guidelines. Asking the surgeon and the hospital for their credentials is not something that should be overlooked.
Center of Excellence Bariatric Surgeon and Hospital Accreditation
ASMBS provides a facility designation referred to as the Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence. This designation provides patients with the understanding that the facility that they are choosing has met several criteria in order to attain this standing. The designation is given to surgeons, freestanding outpatient facilities, hospitals, and surgical centers and is actually administered by Surgical Review Corporation. This distinction has been given to over 400 centers and 750 surgeons in the United States. It is given to both the surgeon and the facility that they are in.
Center of Excellence Requirements
Some of the criteria that the center must meet in order to receive this designation include:
- Surgical Centers have to perform a minimum of 100 bariatric surgeries each year. Hospitals have to perform a minimum of 125 bariatric surgeries per year.
- The center or facility must have a staff consisting of a multidisciplinary team of bariatric experts to include nurses, surgeons, and consultants.
- The surgeons for the facilities and centers have to have conducted a minimum of 125 bariatric surgeries in their career and maintain a quota of 50 surgeries at a minimum each year going forward.
- The facility has to pass an onsite inspection of rigorous nature.
- Re-evaluation with an onsite inspection is to be conducted once every three years.
- Each facility is required to report all long-term outcomes of surgeries to the Bariatric Outcomes Longitudinal Database in an effort to provide valuable data for analysis and research development.