One-room surgery centers are booming business in New Jersey. Over 300 centers employ at least 6,000 people, pay $60 million in state taxes and infuse $2.6 billion into the state's economy. But how regulated are they?
The centers appeal to those who need to have medical procedures but do not want to stay overnight in a traditional hospital. Despite the enormous amount of business that these same-day surgery centers do, the state Department of Health and Senior Services does not license them. The 120 of these facilities that are Medicare-certified only receive inspections once every four years.
Random inspections of both licensed and unlicensed facilities have revealed several health code violations, prompting state lawmakers to act. The New Jersey Senate Health Committee approved a bill in May 2011 that would change it so that these one-room surgery centers would need licenses and receive routine inspections in the same manner as larger facilities. On June 29, the Senate passed the bill, which now goes to the General Assembly.
Details of the Bill
The Senate bill, called Senate Bill No. 2780, would bring the one-room surgery centers under the purview of the state health department in the same manner as multiple room surgery centers. The one-room centers would receive inspections every two-to-three years and have more stringent staffing requirements, as well as an obligation to submit reports to the state of medical errors that result in serious injury.
The bill currently contains provisions regarding requirements for the buildings in which the centers operate, to which members of the New Jersey Association of Ambulatory Surgery Centers object. The bill calls for widening of hallways and providing separate waiting rooms for patients, but many of the doctors who run the one-room facilities rent office space and cannot meet these requirements, according to a lawyer for the NJAASC who argues these requirements do not impact patient care and should not remain in the final version of the bill.
Problems with Lack of Licensing
The current state of one-room surgery centers without regulation is alarming. The state randomly inspected 91 facilities in 2009 and 2010 and over half of those centers did not meet federal health regulations. One quarter of those violations were "immediate jeopardy" violations, which could have caused serious harm to patients. More unlicensed centers than licensed centers had "immediate jeopardy" violations: 17 of 40 unlicensed centers verses eight of 51 licensed centers. Some of the violations included:
•· Lacking ventilators for patient emergencies
•· Improperly sterilizing equipment
•· Using single-use items more than once
State senators fear that these centers - which doctors operate for profit - may be cutting corners in order to make money. Additionally, there are accusations that these facilities engage in Medicare and Medicaid overcharges.
From our law offices in Hackensack and Manhattan, Kirsch Gartenberg Howard LLP has served individuals and businesses across northern New Jersey, including Bergen County, Essex County, Union County, Middlesex County and Passaic County, and the five boroughs of New York City since 1984.
