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November 5, 2019
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ASCA Highlights
On November 1, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the 2020 final payment rule for ASCs. CMS elected to continue with the major ASC advocacy win in last year’s rule by updating ASC payments with the same factor used to update hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs). CMS will also begin ASC reimbursement in 2020 for eight new codes, including total knee arthroplasty (CPT 27447), which was just moved off the inpatient-only (IPO) list in 2018. Learn more and download the rule.
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Learn how an ASC increased collections by $125,000 per month, due in part to A/R Follow Up. Our new white paper provides this intel and so much more. Download today and leverage ASC-specific benchmarks and our own gold standards. |
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Registration is now open for the ASCA 2020 Conference & Expo, May 13–16 in Orlando, FL. ASCA’s annual conference will feature more than 50 educational sessions designed specifically for ASC professionals, access to hundreds of ASC-industry vendors who can help you find the solutions you’re looking for, networking opportunities with more than a thousand of your colleagues and more. Register today to get the best rates!
ASC anesthesiologist Sundar Rajendran, MD, talks about using continuous peripheral nerve block (CPNB) with home infusion in place of opioids for postsurgical pain control in the most recent installment in ASCA’s online Asked & Answered series.
Be sure to register by next Friday, November 15, to lock in early bird registration rates for the ASCA 2020 Winter Seminar. The Winter Seminar—January 16–18 in New Orleans, LA—features three ASC-specific tracks:
- Finance & Accounting
- Coding & Reimbursement
- ASC Management
Attendees can move freely between the tracks and join any of the sessions offered throughout the seminar. Check out the schedule and register today!
When environmental hygiene is overlooked, it can be a source for an infection that skews outcomes and causes other negative reactions. Read this ASC Focus article on the rules for maintaining environmental hygiene in patient areas, the obstacles to success in achieving this goal and how to monitor and improve cleaning responsibilities.
On October 30, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that it had updated quality reporting data for several different healthcare providers, including ASCs, at its Hospital Compare website. The updated ASC Quality Reporting (ASCQR) Program data includes facility, state and national statistics for measures that were required for the 2018 data reporting period. Read more.
Industry News
UHS, Regent Team to Build, Manage Ambulatory Surgical Centers
HIT Infrastructure (10/30/19) Donovan, Fred
Universal Health Services, based in King of Prussia, PA, and Regent Surgical Health, headquartered in Westchester, IL, have agreed to form a national partnership to build and manage ambulatory surgery centers to support the healthcare industry's transition to value. The centers will use a Regent-developed model that leverages best practices across functions, including staff recruitment and retention, training, physician recruitment, surgeon and patient satisfaction, clinical oversight, payer contracting, supply chain, case costing, revenue cycle and marketing.
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Echelon Medical Capital offers innovative accounts receivable liquidity solutions for healthcare providers that take insurance or medical liens against pending personal injury cases. Echelon Medical Capital has quickly become one of the largest dedicated medical receivables funding companies in the country. With unrivaled levels of committed capital, Echelon can support medical practices of any size, including doctors, hospitals and surgery centers. |
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Wave of Deals Expected as Private Equity Eyes Orthopaedic Practices
Healthcare Dive (10/25/19)
Private equity investment firms are setting their sights on orthopaedic care as federal regulators and the industry at large look to move more of these treatments away from hospitals and into outpatient settings. Healthcare experts are predicting a surge of private equity deals in practices that perform hip and knee replacements in the coming months as transactions are finalized.
Statement on FDA's New Report Regarding Root Causes and Potential Solutions to Drug Shortages
FDA News Release (10/29/19) Sharpless, Ned; Woodcock, Janet
One of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's top priorities is to ensure that Americans have access to safe and effective medicines. Sometimes, for a number of reasons, shortages of certain medicines occur and the FDA works immediately with our public health partners and industry to minimize their impact on patients and restore the availability of these drugs.
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Preventing Perioperative Hypothermia
DataTherm® Continuous Patient Temperature Monitoring in the ASCs
Perioperative Hypothermia is considered a common complication and those patients who receive neuraxial and general anesthesia are at risk. Perioperative Hypothermia can be defined as a core body temperature dropping below 36°C during surgery.
Even mild to moderate PH can be associated with increased susceptibility to cardiovascular stress, infection, impaired coagulation as post anesthetic shivering and discomfort. Continuously monitoring the patient’s temperature during the entire surgical process versus periodically taking temperatures is the only way to truly assess the patient for temperature trending and normothermia outcomes.
“Dynamic Patient Temperature Monitoring™”
RG Medical Diagnostics
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Building Relations in Payor Community for Ambulatory Care
Joint Commission Ambulatory Buzz blog (10/30/19) Clawson, Kimberly
Did you know The Joint Commission has a Payor Relations department that works on behalf of the Ambulatory Health Care (AHC) program? As a member of the Payor Relations team, my goal is to secure recognitions of AHC accreditation and certification programs.
Are Your Healthcare Workers Armed With the Right Vaccinations?
Infection Control Today (11/03/19) Murtha, Jack
In the 2016–17 flu season, government investigators found a series of promising statistics: In hospitals, vaccination coverage reached roughly 90% or more for various occupational groups, from physicians and nurse practitioners to assistants, aides, and nonclinical staff. The study, published in the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, also found that employer requirements and complimentary vaccinations were connected to greater vaccination rates.
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