American College of Surgeons and the Society for Vascular Surgery Release Standards for Outpatient Vascular Care

CHICAGO (Sept. 19, 2023): The American College of Surgeons (ACS), with the Society for Vascular Surgery (SVS), has released new standards for outpatient vascular centers to help them provide optimal care and treatment of patients receiving vascular surgical and procedural care. 

These new standards, outlined in the Optimal Resources for Vascular Surgery and Interventional Care – Outpatient Standards manual, are part of the Vascular Verification Program (Vascular-VP), launched earlier this year by the ACS and SVS. These standards provide the requirements necessary for outpatient vascular centers to achieve and maintain verification for their vascular programs. 

“Outpatient facility verification by this program demonstrates to patients, referring physicians, regulators, and payors that high quality, high value, vascular care is being delivered. Participants who successfully complete the verification process will be setting the standard for vascular care in their community,” said William Shutze, MD, FACS, DFSVS, Chair of the Vascular-VP Outpatient Work Group and a vascular surgeon with Texas Vascular Associates. 

Vascular-VP, which now offers verification for both inpatient and outpatient vascular centers, leverages the strengths and expertise of the ACS and SVS to provide a program that provides an evidence-driven, standardized pathway for instituting and growing a quality improvement and clinical care infrastructure within a center’s vascular program.

The release of this new set of standards within Vascular-VP encourages sites to put the same emphasis on quality in outpatient settings that is applied to inpatient settings, as more surgical services are directed to outpatient centers.*

These new Vascular-VP outpatient standards detail elements of vascular surgical care and quality across nine domains, including:

•    Institutional commitment
•    Program scope and governance
•    Resources for facilities, equipment, services, and personnel
•    Clinical care
•    Data abstraction and analysis
•    Quality improvement

By participating in the Vascular-VP program and complying with these standards, outpatient vascular centers can develop the tools necessary to provide safe, effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient and equitable care to all vascular patients.

Vascular-VP builds upon a long history of ACS quality verification programs. Similar to other ACS quality programs, ACS and SVS sought to evaluate and improve the quality of care for vascular patients with the following elements:

1.    Program-specific standards
2.    Infrastructure needed to meet such standards and deliver high-quality, high-value care
3.    Data collection and analysis
4.    Verification site visits to ensure proper implementation and maintenance of these components

Centers interested in becoming verified and continuing the quality improvement journey of their vascular service are encouraged to apply online.

Access the full Vascular-VP outpatient standards manual.

More information about Vascular-VP is available on the ACS website.

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*Lin PH, Chandra FA, Shapiro FE, Osman BM, Urman RD, Ahn SS. The Need for Accreditation of Office-Based Interventional Vascular Centers. Ann Vasc Surg. 2017 Jan;38:332-338. doi: 10.1016/j.avsg.2016.06.010. Epub 2016 Aug 20. PMID: 27554695.

About the American College of Surgeons

The American College of Surgeons is a scientific and educational organization of surgeons that was founded in 1913 to raise the standards of surgical practice and improve the quality of care for all surgical patients. The College is dedicated to the ethical and competent practice of surgery. Its achievements have significantly influenced the course of scientific surgery in America and have established it as an important advocate for all surgical patients. The College has more than 88,000 members and is the largest organization of surgeons in the world. "FACS" designates that a surgeon is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

About the Society for Vascular Surgery

The Society for Vascular Surgery® (SVS) seeks to advance excellence and innovation in vascular health through education, advocacy, research, and public awareness. The organization was founded in 1946 and currently has a membership of more than 6,300. SVS membership is recognized in the vascular community as a mark of professional achievement.