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Sign up for the ASCA 2023 Conference & Expo by this Friday, March 24, to get the early bird discount! ASCA’s annual conference—May 17–20 in Louisville, KY—has the resources, education and networking opportunities you need to lead your surgery center to success. Don’t miss out—register now to lock in your discount! |
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In the newest episode of ASCA’s Advancing Surgical Care Podcast, ASCA Chief Executive Officer Bill Prentice and ECG Management Consultants Partner and ASC Practice Leader Naya Kehayes talk about recent and future trends in the migration of surgical codes onto Medicare’s ASC Covered Procedures List (ASC-CPL). They also discuss the work ASCA and its members are doing to ensure all patients who need outpatient surgery have access to the most appropriate site of service and the top-quality, lower-cost care ASCs provide. Listen to this episode, “ The Migration of Surgical Procedures from Inpatient to Outpatient,” to find out which codes are expected to move next and how your ASC can prepare. |
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Subscribe to ASCA’s 2023 Clinical & Operational Benchmarking Survey—a valuable online resource that provides data you can use to improve clinical outcomes, staff indicators, billing performance and more at your facility. Data collection for the first quarter opens next month. Subscribe today and submit your data in April to gain a full year of national comparison data. ASCA members save $150 on subscriptions to the 2023 survey. Purchase your subscription today! |
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Three Ways Data Integration Can Boost Your Surgery Center’s Data Management
From operation data points to clinical outcomes, a tremendous amount of data is generated daily, all housed in several different systems, each with its own structure. By bringing all that data into one centralized location, ASCs and management groups can boost profitability, reduce inefficiencies, and deliver better patient care. Let’s explore how data integration can boost your surgery centers’ data management.
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Candidates who plan to take the May Certified Administrator Surgery Center (CASC)® exam must submit their application by next Friday, March 31. The CASC credential is a distinction earned by members of the ASC community who demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the knowledge and skills required of an ASC administrator. |
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ASCA Learning Hub Update
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ASCA is transitioning to a new virtual event platform that will provide a better user experience and make it easier to access your content. If you have purchased virtual content, be on the lookout for emails with instructions for accessing the new ASCA Learning Hub.
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Physicians are the lifeblood of any successful ASC, and according to ASCA, own some part or all of more than 90 percent of ASCs across the country. Read this ASC Focus article to get a preview of Colin Park’s session “ASC Valuations, Transactions and Trends”—part of the ASCA 2023 Conference & Expo, May 17–20 in Louisville, KY— where he will share when an ASC may need a valuation and how one is performed, as well as observed market trends. |
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ASCA successfully filed a Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations Language Request with the office of Representative Mike Simpson (R-ID), a member of the US House Committee on Appropriations, before the Friday, March 10, deadline.
The committee is responsible for allocating federal discretionary programs and spending, including health and human services.
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Today, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) releases its March 2023 Report to the Congress: Medicare Payment Policy. The report presents MedPAC's recommendations for how provider payment rates in traditional fee for-service Medicare should be updated for 2024 and for providing additional resources to acute care hospitals and clinicians who furnish care to Medicare beneficiaries with low incomes, and reviews the status of Medicare Advantage and the prescription drug benefit (Part D).
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MedPAC News Release (03/15/23)
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Jessica Layman estimates she has called more than 150 doctors in the past few years in her search for someone to prescribe opioids for her chronic pain. "A lot of them are straight-up insulting," said the 40-year-old, who lives in Dallas.
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CNN (03/17/23) Sam Whitehead; Andy Miller
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The AMA and over 130 other organizations representing more than 900,000 doctors who deliver care to tens of millions of older Americans are strongly urging congressional leadership of both parties to take needed action to ensure that physician payment keeps pace with inflation every year, in line with the Medicare Economic Index (MEI). The physician organizations' call for action comes on the heels of a recommendation from the influential Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) that Congress boost the 2024 Medicare physician payment rate above current law with an inflation-based payment update tied to 50 percent of the MEI.
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American Medical Association (03/16/23) Kevin B. O'Reilly
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On Wednesday, the FDA issued a draft guidance, Development of Local Anesthetic Drug Products with Prolonged Duration of Effect, to assist sponsors that are developing local anesthetic drug products to produce postoperative pain relief for a prolonged duration. The administration of these drug products has been used to reduce or eliminate the pain associated with surgical procedures, such as inguinal hernia repair or total knee arthroplasty.
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FDA News Release (03/17/23)
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Ambulatory surgery for acute appendicitis based on St-Antoine's score is safe. We propose to extend the indication for ambulatory management to all patients without radiological evidence of perforation.
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Surgery (02/10/23) Pénélope Raimbert; Thibault Voron; Sophie Laroche; et al.
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Incremental reimbursement for complex cataract surgery may undervalue the resource costs required for the procedure, according to an economic analysis published in JAMA Ophthalmology. Using time-driven activity-based costing, investigators led by Shahzad I. Mian, MD, Kellogg Eye Center, University of Michigan, observed that complex cataract surgery was more costly than simple cataract surgery, with the difference exceeding Medicare reimbursement rates for complex cataract surgery.
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HCPLive (03/10/23) Connor Iapoce
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About ASCAMission: The Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) is the national membership association that represents ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) and provides advocacy and resources to assist ASCs in delivering high-quality, cost-effective ambulatory surgery to all the patients they serve. About Us: At ASCA, we are eager to help you become better acquainted with our nation's ASCs and the people who own and operate them. We are also eager to help you develop policies on ASC-related issues. If you have questions, please contact us. We'll put you in touch with the experts and, if you like, arrange for you to visit an ASC in your area. Contact Us: Advertising inquiries should be addressed to Chris Schriever or Alex Yewdell at 202.337.1897 or at advertising@ascassociation.org. Follow ASCA on
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