Center Of Excellence

Center of Excellence

Center of Excellence Dr. Shawn Garber, MD FACS and The New York Bariatric Group was awarded the designation of “Center of Excellence” (COE) by the SRC / ASBS. This certification was initiated by the Surgical Review Corporation and the American Society for Bariatric Surgery to better insure quality in bariatric surgery. The COE designation by this independent review corporation is based on the programs components, outcomes and statistics. There is also a site visit involved to validate the program’s data. Unfortunately, there are several “COE’s” being listed today which can cause confusion. Many insurance companies have created their own which are often based on provider contracts and not site validation.

The importance of the SRC / ASBS Center of Excellence was validated by the federal government in its Medicare National Coverage Determination (NCD). This document was issued in February 2006 and proclaimed that Medicare patients could ONLY be operated on in ASBS (or ACS) Centers of Excellence.

Obesity is not only limited to the U.S. It is now a global crisis and epidemic. With over 300 million obese people worldwide, certain standards need to be put in place to ensure that patients receive the highest levels of efficacy and safety for bariatric care. The Surgical Review Corporation (SRC) established the COE designation to ensure that standards. Quality standards, benchmarks on best practices, and compliance norms are all important parts of a healthcare organization’s COE standing.

Some of the important goals of the COE include:

• Ensuring consistency of standards worldwide
• Assisting in development of clinical trials, data analysis, and research efforts
• Lobbying for health care coverage of bariatric surgery
• Addressing issues with consumer confidence and concerns

Click Here to see Newsday Long Island article about our Center of Excellence designation.