ASMBS, SRC announce new 5-year agreement for Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence program

The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) and Surgical Review Corporation (SRC) today announced a new five-year agreement for SRC's continued administration of the ASMBS Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence (BSCOE) program. The contract extends the original charter established when the ASMBS founded SRC in 2003 as an independent nonprofit to develop and manage the program.

The organizations launched the BSCOE program in 2004, and it is now the world's largest center of excellence program for the specialty. More than 700 surgeons and 400 facilities have achieved designation, and an additional 300 surgeons and 150 facilities have been approved for provisional status.

"In just a few years, the BSCOE program has successfully helped improve patient safety, efficacy and the quality of bariatric care," said Dr. Bruce Wolfe, President of the ASMBS. "With a 90-day mortality rate of 0.11% and a low incidence of complications, the data shows that procedures performed by BSCOE participants are safe. Much has been accomplished, but we can achieve more. The new contract defines how our organizations will work together to evolve the program in ways that will be most beneficial to both patients and providers."

"As a past president of the ASMBS and a BSCOE designee, I've witnessed firsthand how the program can transform a surgical practice and hospital," said Dr. Neil Hutcher, Chairman of SRC's Board of Directors and a bariatric surgeon at Commonwealth Surgeons in Richmond, Virginia. "Our outcomes were good, but the BSCOE program showed us that they could be better. Earning - and maintaining - the designation keeps our bariatric team focused on superior care delivery and long-term patient support."

The new contract, effective August 1, 2010, was unanimously approved by the ASMBS Executive Council and SRC's Board of Directors.

SOURCE American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery and Surgical Review Corporation