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Ms. Piotrowski says it's important to immediately fix the deficits a surveyor observes. "Remedy them as soon as possible," she explains. "During your next reaccreditation survey, the surveyor will look back at the previous survey's notes and zero in on the opportunities for improvement to make sure they were taken care of." Ms. Piotrowski says her staff will typically start 3 6 • O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 0 Four organizations offer accreditation for ambulatory surgery facilities: The Joint Commission, American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities (AAAASF), Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) and Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (HFAP). Each organi- zation shared how the pan- demic effected the survey process and how they're han- dling surveys moving forward. • The Joint Commission. CMS has provided The Joint Commission with approval for conducting surveys during the public health emergency using a virtual platform, with the expectation that on-site surveys will resume as soon as it is safe to do so. The organization plans to continue with the current survey process and incorporate the virtual process as appropriate to ensure everyone's safety in areas where COVID-19 rates are high and travel is restrict- ed. In addition, the use of virtual technology and alternate observation processes during on-site visits to limit exposure will likely continue through 2021. • AAAASF. Due to travel restrictions as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic, AAAASF developed the virtual survey process for facilities seeking start- up surveys. The first virtual survey was conducted for a new office-based surgery facility in Oregon. The virtual survey allowed for expedient scheduling and posed no barriers for the surveyor to assess compli- ance with standards. New York Department of Health approved AAAASF to conduct start-up surveys for new office-based surgery facilities from June through Oct. 31, 2020. As survey activity resumes, AAAASF wants to establish the facility is open and providing patient care and if there are any state reg- ulations or travel restrictions that would impact its surveyors. The facility must also provide information about instructions and precautions for entry into their building and the provision of PPE. • AAAHC. As the COVID-19 pandemic situation continues to evolve, AAAHC has no plans to change the onsite survey format in 2021. Program partici- pants have expressed that they value the face-to- face interaction and expertise delivered through the onsite survey. However, the organization is explor- LOOKING AHEAD How Will COVID-19 Impact the Survey Process? REMOTE ACCESS Some accreditation organizations might switch to hybrid or virtual survey models as the pandemic continues.