ASCs will no longer be required to stock a CMS-mandated list of emergency equipment, but will be free to assemble the tools most necessary for their own specific patient population and procedures, according to a federal rule change announced this week.

The change, which is scheduled to take effect on July 15, allows each ASC's governing body and medical staff to determine, in accordance with standards of practice, which equipment must be on hand to maintain safety and ensure rescues.

This adaptation emerged from CMS's awareness that "some of these equipment requirements are outdated, while other equipment requirements would not be applicable to the emergency needs of all ASCs," reports the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association.

The rule announcing the change appears on page 25 of a recent federal transmittal.

David Bernard