Ongoing Standards Improvements: Technical Corrections and Transparent Updates

We are approximately six weeks into the implementation of our updated standards and have transitioned into the post-implementation phase.  Your feedback, along with input from our surveyors, has been invaluable, and we recognize that transitions like these require patience and collaboration. We appreciate and thank you for your efforts to keep patients safe in your facilities and for maintaining high-quality care in your facility.

What’s Our Focus?

As part of the post-implementation phase, our standards and interpretive guidance manuals are living documents that we continually evaluate and refine. The Standards Committee is committed is meeting weekly to rapidly resolve high-priority concerns. We do not anticipate adding additional standards with new requirements (except for those facilities located in Florida, see below). Our focus is on: 

• Clarifying standard language
  
• Adjusting standard applicability across programs 
• Refining the interpretive guidance language  
  

Communication of Corrections

To ensure transparency, you can expect weekly communications via email with links to a Technical Corrections Report (similar to the Technical Correction Report that was effective April 7, 2025). All changes will be consolidated into a single document on our website, organized chronologically with the most recent updates at the top. This approach minimizes confusion while we prepare for a full Standards Manual revision later this year.

Summary of May 19, 2025 Corrections

• Created new standard numbers with the same standard language for certain non-Medicare standards that were previously tied to a Medicare standard and when cited, came across as a “condition” level of severity, which may prompt a follow-up survey incorrectly. 
• Removed applicability of certain standards for some of the Medicare programs as they have comparable standards. 
• Updated interpretive guidance. 
• Added glossary definitions. 
  
  

Florida Facilities

For those facilities located in Florida, we are updating standards to align with the requirements of the Florida Statutes and the Florida Administrative Codes. Please watch QUAD A communications for the timelines related to these updates. 

To learn more about regulations and best practices for surgical facilities in Florida, register for our upcoming joint webinar with the Florida Society of Plastic Surgeons on May 29, 2025. Click the button below to sign up or get additional details.

Again, we thank you for your partnership as we navigate this phase together. Please know that we a committed to addressing your concerns promptly and ensuring a smooth transition.

As a reminder, if you have a standards related question, please email your questions to standards@quada.org.  

If you were not able to attend our webinar series, these are a great resource and contain valuable information to assist you in navigating these changes. 

Thank you for your unwavering commitment to excellence and putting Patients First. Always.

Since 1980, QUAD A (a non-profit, physician founded and led global accreditation organization) has worked with thousands of healthcare facilities to standardize and improve the quality of health care they provide – believing that patient safety should always come first. To learn more about QUAD A, their accreditation process, and why it’s so important to seek out accredited facilities when making healthcare related decisions, visit www.quada.org