Dr. Higa Achieves MBSAQIP Reaccreditation

During your research into bariatric surgery, you may have heard of a MBSAQIP Accreditation. MBSAQIP is a long acronym that describes the national standard for bariatric surgery: the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program

Dr. Guillermo Higa recently stood as the MBS Medical Director on the Carondelet St. Mary’s Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Committee for MBSAQIP reaccreditation. This designation ensures that they can continue to serve the greater Tucson community with safe and quality care for patients as a Comprehensive Bariatric Facility.

The Specifics

The MBSAQIP Accreditation began in 2012 when the American College of Surgeons and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery combined their individual accreditation programs into one, unified accreditation. This is a voluntary, but intensive process in which bariatric surgery practices must keep up to date with their resources and standards to maintain their accreditation.

During Dr. Higa’s time as a leader in the reaccreditation process, he worked with the committee to prove that the program could maintain predetermined physical and human resources as well as quality standards of practice. The point of the accreditation is to encourage a multidisciplinary approach to metabolic and bariatric surgery and promote a nationwide standard that bariatric practices around the country can aim for. It requires all practice procedures to be entered in the MBSAQIP data registry as well as an on-site visit once every three years.

The Bottom Line

Dr. Higa has performed over 1000 bariatric surgeries that have helped patients lead a happier and healthier life. His passion for high quality care appears in his dedication to maintain the national standards that a MBSAQIP Accreditation requires. If you would like to learn more about what kind of high-quality care Dr. Higa’s practice has to offer, contact our office today.