Accreditation agencies estimate that more than three-fourths of all freestanding ambulatory surgery centers and an even greater proportion of office-based surgical suites are not accredited. If yours is one of them, you may be wondering Should we or shouldn't we? While the ultimate answer will differ for every facility, here are a few points to ponder as you make your decision.

THE PROS
1. It makes your care better and safer. Some doubt the ability of surveyors to see and understand all the problems in a surgery facility and bring them to your attention, but there can be no doubt that having a trained third party examine your operation will improve it in some way. The process may result in better emergency preparedness, more effective infection control procedures, superior fire safety and even better business practices. In effect, say accreditation proponents, something good will happen as a result of the process. "I would highly recommend it," says Trevor Neal, a Michigan podiatrist who underwent the process for his office-based facility. "I sleep better knowing that if an emergency were to occur, we have systems in place to handle it."

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