ASCA News Digest

Registration is now open for the ASCA 2024 Conference & Expo! Join us April 17–20 in Orlando, Florida, for the best national conference for ASC professionals. Next year’s conference features a slew of exciting new features as well as returning favorites that you won’t want to miss.

We’ve also restructured pricing and reduced the cost of registration by 30% to help you save money and make attending ASCA 2024 more accessible than ever. Don’t miss out—check out the schedule and register today!

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The Coding & Reimbursement for ASCs virtual course provides essential training for ASC billers and coders. During this course, which streams live on January 8 and 9, participants will hear from industry experts as they discuss the coding and billing updates for 2024 and share strategies to maximize ASC reimbursements.

You can purchase this course individually or as part of the 2024 Virtual Course Bundle—a package that gives you four courses for less than the price of three!

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Register today for ASCA’s 2024 National Advocacy Day, taking place February 26–28.

National Advocacy Day gathers engaged members of the ASC community from across the country to advocate for their facilities and the high-quality care they deliver. It is an excellent opportunity to meet face-to-face with your members of Congress and their staff to educate them about the many benefits ASCs offer and issues currently impacting their ability to provide care.

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NEW! State of the Industry Report: Best Practices & Proven Data for Optimizing ASC Operations

Leading surgery centers understand the importance of using data to inform business decisions.
The 2023 report is compiled from industry experts & HST's unique data to help you:

• Learn about best practices
• See key process steps for major operational areas
• See data benchmarks to compare your performance against others

Read the full report here.

The OAS CAHPS Survey is designed to measure patient experience with overall care received in ASCs. It is voluntary through the end of 2024 and will become mandatory for all eligible Medicare-certified ASCs beginning in 2025.

To ensure your facility is ready when the survey becomes mandatory, ASCA strongly encourages all ASCs to get started with the survey as soon as possible. ASCA members receive a discount on Press Ganey’s OAS CAHPS Survey.

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Next-Generation ASC Analytics in Action

ASCs pursuing growth avenues and improvement opportunities to strengthen their bottom line are using “next-generation analytics.” Learn what they are and the value of enhanced reporting in this detailed e-book. Gain a better understanding of what reports to run and when and how the right ASC billing partner helps with effective reporting, data analysis, and data-driven action.

ASCs are paying more for nearly every staff position they hire and offering robust benefits packages to help manage increasing caseloads and employee turnover rates that exceeded 20 percent in more than one out of five surgery centers during 2022, data collected in ASCA’s 2023 Salary & Benefits Survey shows. Read this Digital Debut to learn more.

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On November 27, the Surgical Institute of Alabama in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, hosted Representative Gary Palmer (R-AL) and his staff for a facility tour. During the tour, facility staff discussed the state of the ASC community and urged support for crucial ASC legislation, the Outpatient Surgery Quality and Access Act of 2023.

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Biden Looks to Boost Domestic Drug Manufacturing Amid Shortages

Amid widespread drug shortages, President Biden is outlining a plan to increase domestic production of essential pharmaceuticals — including by leveraging a defense law used to bolster countermeasures against COVID-19. The number of drugs in shortage is higher than at any point in almost a decade, while U.S. drug manufacturers largely depend on overseas suppliers for active pharmaceutical ingredients.

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2023 AAAHC Quality Roadmap Outlines Opportunities and Challenges for Ambulatory Health Care Providers

Today, the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care releases its 2023 AAAHC Quality Roadmap, a comprehensive analysis of data from nearly 1800 accreditation surveys conducted in a cross-section of organizational types from January 2022 to February 2023. The annual report helps providers identify themes that deserve special attention as organizations pursue ongoing quality improvement throughout the accreditation cycle.

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40 Percent of Doctors Eye Exits. What Can Organizations Do to Keep Them?

While many physicians retire due to age, others have chosen early retirement due to the current state of the U.S. health system. And too many young or midcareer physicians intend to leave their organizations within two years.

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U.S. Physician Workforce Data Dashboard

The U.S. Physician Workforce Data Dashboard provides the most current data available about the physician workforce across specialties in a series of interactive dashboards. The U.S. Physician Workforce Data Dashboard combines data previously published in two separate AAMC workforce studies reports, Physician Specialty Data Report and State Physician Workforce Data Report.

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Antimicrobial Resistance

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the top global public health and development threats. It is estimated that bacterial AMR was directly responsible for 1.27 million global deaths in 2019 and contributed to 4.95 million deaths.

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DISC Surgery Center at Newport Beach Now Enrolling Patients in Clinical Study on Artificial Disc Replacement

Committed to supporting research vital to the field of spinal care, DISC Surgery Center at Newport Beach has announced its participation in a clinical study on artificial disc replacement and is now enrolling qualified patients. Candidates may include patients between the ages of 18 and 75 who have been told they need cervical (neck) surgery at two consecutive levels (among other requirements).

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AMSURG Announces Board of Directors

AMSURG, a leader in ambulatory surgery center services, announced appointments to the organization's Board of Directors. The announcement comes after a successful emergence as an independent company under new leadership and positioned for growth.

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News summaries © copyright 2023 Smithbucklin

About ASCA

Mission: 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.

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