Alabama Administrative Code › Title 410 - STATE HEALTH PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT AGENCY › Chapter 410-2-4 - FACILITIES › Section 410-2-4-.12 - Ambulatory Surgery

Current through Register Vol. 42, No. 9, June 28, 2024
(1) Discussion.
			 An evolution in the provision of surgical care provided in ambulatory surgery
			 centers has taken place. As a result of cost containment measures and advances
			 in medical technology, many surgical procedures which previously required
			 inpatient care (both before and after the procedures) are now done on an
			 outpatient basis.
(2) Definitions.
			 For the purposes of this section, the following definitions shall be used:
(a) Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) - a
			 health care facility, licensed by the Alabama Department of Public Health, with
			 the primary purpose of providing medically necessary or elective surgical care
			 on an outpatient basis and in which the patient stays less than 24 hours.
			 Excluded from this definition are the offices of private physicians and
			 dentists, including those organized as professional corporations, professional
			 associations, partnerships, or individuals in sole proprietorship. Also
			 excluded from this definition are health care facilities licensed as
			 hospitals.
(b) Hospital-owned
			 Ambulatory Surgery Center (HASC) - a facility either owned and operated
			 exclusively by an existing acute care hospital or where the hospital holds
			 majority ownership in conjunction with other entities and which is operated as
			 a separately licensed entity distinct from the hospital, containing operating
			 rooms which are solely and exclusively used for the provision of outpatient
			 surgical services that, due to licensure, practice standards or other reasons,
			 are not performed in a physician's office or in an office-based lab
			 (OBL).
(c) Hospital Surgical
			 Department (HSD) - operating rooms specifically designated by a hospital for
			 performing surgical procedures, on an inpatient, outpatient, or "mixed-use"
			 basis.
(d) Multi-Specialty
			 Ambulatory Surgery Center (MASC) - an ASC established for the provision of
			 outpatient surgical procedures in a variety of specialties. MASCs allow for
			 physicians from multiple disciplines to perform surgical procedures in a
			 centralized location that, due to licensure, practice standards or other
			 reasons, are not performed in a physician's office or in an office-based lab
			 (OBL).
(e) Operating Room - rooms
			 used for the performance of surgical procedures requiring one or more incisions
			 and which must comply with licensure standards for an operating room. Operating
			 Rooms are not to include procedure rooms.
(f) Procedure Room - rooms designated for the
			 performance of special procedures that do not require a restricted environment
			 and are not considered to be operating rooms.
(g) Single-Specialty Ambulatory Surgery
			 Center (SASC) - an ASC established for the provision of outpatient surgical
			 procedures of a single specialty only. SASCs allow for surgical procedures to
			 be performed that, due to licensure, practice standards or other reasons, are
			 not performed in a physician's office or in an office-based lab
			 (OBL).