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Register today for ASCA’s 2023 virtual courses. Each course is available to purchase on its own or as part of the 2023 Virtual Course Bundle— which gives you three courses for the price of two! Materials Management for ASCs is now available on demand, and the next course in the set, Best Practices in ASC Revenue Cycle Management, will broadcast live on August 21 and 22 and will be available on demand afterwards. Learn more about this deal today! |
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Participate in ASCA’s free 2023 Salary & Benefits Survey today. This survey collects national, regional and state data on 20+ ASC positions and is a vital tool that assists ASCs in attracting and retaining the best employees. Data submission will close at the end of June. The survey is open to all ASCs, and there is no cost to participate. Both ASCA members and nonmembers who complete at least 40 percent of the survey will receive personalized results for free. |
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If you attended the ASCA 2023 Conference & Expo in Louisville, be sure to request your continuing education (CE) credits online via the ASCA 2023 Continuing Education Portal or through the ASCA Meetings app. The deadline to request CE credits is June 30. |
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How to Know When It Is Time to Consider a Strategic Partner
When it comes to strategic partnerships, surgery centers have many options to choose from, but timing is everything. Blake Peart is the Managing Director of Vertess, and he’s on the show this week to chat about when it is the right time to consider a strategic partner, key indicators that its time, potential benefits and advantages, and identifying the right partner. Make sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode - new podcast episodes are released every Tuesday!
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Save the date for the ASCA 2024 Conference & Expo, to be held April 17–20, 2024, in Orlando, Florida. If you have a suggestion for a topic or speaker for ASCA’s next annual conference, please let us know. Submissions for ASCA 2024 will be accepted through June 30. Submit your suggestions today! |
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Visit the ASC Focus website to read the latest edition of the ASC Focus magazine. Highlights include: “Supporting an Increasingly Diverse Patient Population,” “Improve Patient Safety with Clinical Technology” and “Establishing Culture and Mission in a New ASC.” |
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Leading the way in effective pre-op skin preparation
BD ChloraPrep™ patient preoperative skin preparation with sterile solution delivers standardized, powerful, persistent antimicrobial protection that is backed by more than 60 clinical studies and trusted by healthcare providers for more than 21 years.
BD ChloraPrep™ skin preparation is the only skin prep that offers a wide range of coverage areas to fit your ASC’s clinical needs and allows for cost-saving standardized skin prep. Learn more today.
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On June 1, UnitedHealthcare (UHC) announced that a controversial prior authorization policy affecting almost all upper gastroenterology (GI) endoscopy, colonoscopy and capsule endoscopy procedures will not take effect as expected. Instead, the insurer is requesting “advance notification” from providers.
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A continuing key priority of the Biden-Harris Administration is lowering prescription drug costs. Today, the Department of Health and Human Services, through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, announced the list of 43 prescription drugs for which Part B beneficiary coinsurances may be lower between July 1 – September 30, 2023.
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CMS Press Release (06/09/23)
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Guidelines for managing surgical pain omit patients with a history of chronic pain, substance use disorder and/or opioid tolerance. To address this disparity, the American Society of Anesthesiologists gathered 15 medical organizations representing more than 500,000 physicians to develop seven guiding principles to improve pain management before, during and after surgery for these challenging patients.
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Newswise (06/07/23)
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning consumers not to use off-brand versions of the popular weight-loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy because they might not contain the same ingredients as the prescription products and may not be safe or effective. Agency officials said this week that they have received reports of problems after patients used versions of semaglutide, the active ingredient in the brand-name medications, which have been compounded, or mixed in pharmacies.
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Associated Press (06/01/23) Jonel Aleccia
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Despite decades focused on preventing wrong site surgery, it continues to occur at a predictable rate. National Time Out Day, on June 14, brings renewed attention for everyone on the surgical team to pause before a surgical procedure begins to ensure it is the right site, right procedure and right person. The Joint Commission addresses the Time Out in its Universal Protocol for Preventing Wrong Site, Wrong Procedure and Wrong Person Surgery.
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Joint Commission Press Release (06/07/23)
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Massachusetts regulators delivered one of their most forceful warnings yet that health care prices are spiraling out of control, ramping up the pressure on lawmakers who have been unable to wrangle the trend and fulfill a consensus vision of cost control. Experts at the Health Policy Commission on Wednesday said the combination of total health care spending growth in Massachusetts and greater financial burden on patients exposes Bay Staters to harrowing choices about which of their basic needs to prioritize.
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WBUR (MA) (06/08/23) Chris Lisinski
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Covenant Physician Partners is pleased to announce the expansion of its footprint in Southern California with an ASC merger in Los Angeles, CA. "The merger of our St. Vincent Eye Surgery Center with Wilshire Center for Ambulatory Surgery expands upon our decade-long partnership with the physicians of St. Vincent," commented Andrew Ard, Covenant Physician Partners, Regional Vice President.
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Business Wire (06/06/23)
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In this economic analysis using time-driven activity-based costing, complex cataract surgery cost $877.85 more than simple cataract surgery but was only reimbursed an incremental $231.01. Therefore, complex cataract surgery had a negative earnings difference of $646.84 compared with simple cataract surgery.
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JAMA Ophthalmology (03/09/23) David S. Portney; Sean T. Berkowitz; Desmond C. Garner; et al.
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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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