ASCA News Digest (February 23, 2022)

Featuring top-quality education, an extensive ASC-specific expo hall, a return to in-person networking and more, ASCA’s annual conference is the can’t-miss event of the year for ASC professionals.

Register by Monday, February 28, to lock in your early bird discount and join us for the ASCA 2022 Conference & Expo, taking place April 27–30 in the wonderful city of Dallas, TX.

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Last year, ASCA introduced a bimonthly survey series, the 60-Second Survey, and asked about topics such as COVID-19 operational impacts, electronic health record (EHR) usage and staffing shortages. You can now respond to the first 60-Second Survey of 2022 in which we ask a few questions about your facility’s marketing activities and results.

The deadline to take this survey is this Friday, February 25. As a reminder, these surveys are designed to take approximately one minute, so you won’t need to pull any reports to respond.

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Next Monday, February 28, member benefits will be terminated for ASCs that have not renewed their membership for 2022.

ASCA membership provides your entire staff with access to vital educational resources, great networking opportunities, essential industry news and practical tools to use daily in your facility. Renew today to keep receiving these important benefits.

To confirm your facility’s renewal status for 2022 or to request a renewal invoice, email ASCA’s member services team. ASCA appreciates your continued support.

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Interested in finding an ASC in your area or some other state? Visit ASCA’s Advancing Surgical Care website and use our interactive map to find Medicare-certified ASCs throughout the US. You can filter your search by location, state and congressional district, or center specialty—this interactive map makes it easy.

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In the 2022 OPPS/ASC final payment rule, regarding the ASC Quality Reporting (ASCQR) Program, CMS finalized its proposal to “Adopt ASC-20: COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage Among HCP [Health Care Personnel] measure beginning with the CY 2024 payment determination.” For a new measure, this is an accelerated timeline, as CY 2024 payment determinations are impacted by data collected and reported in 2022. Read this Digital Debut to learn more about the measure, NHSN enrollment and data submission.

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Find out what your ASC needs to do to comply with the CMS COVID-19 vaccination mandate and new COVID-19 vaccination quality reporting requirement in the newest episode of ASCA’s Advancing Surgical Care Podcast, “COVID-19 Vaccine Requirements for Healthcare Workers.”

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New Quick Safety Advisory on Ensuring Safety of Critical Instruments and Devices in Health Care

Surgical instruments and other critical devices are reprocessed and reused every day in health care facilities. Ensuring these instruments and devices are reusable – that they are in good condition and are cleaned and sterilized following validated manufacturer’s instructions – is critical to patient safety.

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More Than Half of Medical Devices Found to Have Critical Vulnerabilities

More than half of the connected medical devices in hospitals pose security threats due to critical vulnerabilities that could potentially compromise patient care. According to the 2022 State of Healthcare IoT Device Security Report from Cynerio, 53 percent of internet-connected medical devices analyzed were found to have a known vulnerability, while one-third of bedside devices were identified to have a critical risk.

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American Cancer Society National Consortium Announce Recommendations to Increase Cancer Screening Rates to Pre-Pandemic Levels

Today, the American Cancer Society's National Consortium for Cancer Screening and Care (ACS National Consortium) announced nine consensus recommendations to accelerate recovery from the pandemic and improve the nation's ability to provide quality cancer screening and care for all. The ACS National Consortium convenes leading organizations dedicated to the safe and equitable recovery of cancer screening and treatment services.

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Physician Survey Reveals Cracks in the U.S. Drug Supply Chain

Seven of 10 US physicians say that the COVID-19 pandemic has heightened drug supply chain problems, limiting their ability to provide quality patient care, according to a new US Pharmacopeia (USP) survey. "Physicians on the front lines observed the impact first-hand, navigating shortages in medicines, personal protective equipment and other supplies, on top of the demands of providing care to an unprecedented volume of patients," USP, an independent global scientific organization, said in the survey report.

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Health Care Safety During the Pandemic and Beyond — Building a System That Ensures Resilience

For about two decades, the U.S. health care system was making strides in improving patient safety, as demonstrated by the reduction of health care–associated infections and other complications of care. Though there was still room for improvement, the trends were certainly in the right direction.

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Department of Justice Announces Initiative to Protect Americans from Collusive Schemes Amid Supply Chain Disruptions

In the wake of persistent price increases initially stemming from supply chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 global pandemic, the Antitrust Division and the FBI announced an initiative today to deter, detect and prosecute those who would exploit supply chain disruptions to engage in collusive conduct. "Temporary supply chain disruptions should not be allowed to conceal illegal conduct," said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department's Antitrust Division.

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News summaries © copyright 2022 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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