Office-Based Surgery

Alert

The Patient Safety Center has moved. Our new addresss is:

• Patient Safety Center
  Office of Quality and Patient Safety
  New York State Department of Health
  Corning Tower, Room 1938
  Albany, NY 12237.

We can be reached by phone at: (518) 408-1219; fax: (518) 486-6098 or email: obs@health.ny.gov. Please send adverse event reports to this address or submit via secure file transfer via the DOH Health Commerce System.

Practices which perform office-based surgery were required to be accredited on July 14, 2009. To find a list of accredited practices go to Office-Based Surgery Practices in New York State.

Office-Based Surgery Adverse Event Reporting Reminders

Please use the correct form (dated 06/2013).

The updated form for submitting an adverse event report is located at http://www.health.ny.gov/forms/doh-4431.pdf. It's use will be required for re-submission of adverse event report forms received on an outdated version of the form after December 31, 2013. The Department recommends filling out the form electronically on the computer before printing, signing and submitting. Future updates to the form will be automatically reflected on the online form.

Take care to answer all applicable questions.

The Patient Safety Center has receives numerous incomplete forms. Though more detailed, the updated adverse event report form was designed in part to reduce the need for accredited practices to submit medical records to the Department.

All Physicians, Physician Assistants and Specialist Assistants Must sign the form.

The Office-Based Surgery legislation requires that all physicians, PA's and SA's involved in the event being reported MUST sign the submitted adverse event report. If the PSC receives an adverse event form that is not signed by all mandated reporters, the PSC sends submitters a letter informing them of their mistake and reminding them of the OBS adverse event reporting requirements contained within the law. At this time submitters who have made errors are not required to re-submit reports, but they may be in the future. Practitioners who have a continued pattern of filing legally deficient reports may result in referral to the Office of Professional Medical Conduct.