AAO, ASCRS, and OOS Release Checklist for Reopening Surgery Centers

The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS), and the Outpatient Ophthalmic Surgery Society (OOS) developed a checklist to provide guidance on the safe reopening of ophthalmic ambulatory surgery centers, according to a joint statement by the organizations.

The Ophthalmic ASC Reopening Checklist provides specific guidance on how to approach the reopening of practices that have been closed or offering limited services due to COVID-19.

In the statement, the organizations advised that the decision to reopen should be based on “local and regional conditions, on public health authorities interpreting local patterns of disease, on testing availability, on institutional policies, and ultimately on individual ophthalmologists.” 

The Checklist is broken down into the following categories:

-Administration

–Clinical/Infection Prevention

-Life Safety

– Sterilization

-Pharmacy

In a letter sent to AAO members earlier this month, AAO CEO David W Parke II, MD, said the organization in the coming weeks would be providing guidance regarding the path to reopening ophthalmology care on a local and regional basis.

The full Checklist can be found here.