New Office-Based Surgery Regulations in Arkansas

The Arkansas State Medical Board has released its final set of rules for surgeries performed in an office-based setting.

Effective July 1, any surgery performed under general or intravenous anesthetics in an office-based surgical setting that is not a hospital, outpatient facility or other facility licensed by the state board of health is considered an "office-based surgery."

Procedures performed in this setting must not require hospitalization and at least one person who has training in advanced resuscitative techniques is required to be in the patient’s immediate presence at all times until the patient is discharged.

The new set of regulations also set mandates on crash-cart equipment minimums, adverse incident reporting protocols and the administration of anesthesia.