ASCA News Digest (March 8, 2022)

Less than two months remain until the ASCA 2022 Conference & Expo, April 27–30 in the wonderful city of Dallas, TX.

Don’t miss your opportunity to receive top-quality ASC education, access to the largest expo hall in the industry and a return to in-person networking.

Register today and we’ll see you next month!

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Gain insight on the use of Kotter’s eight-step plan for implementing and sustaining change and explore ways to evaluate its effectiveness during ASCA’s next webinar. This program will highlight the steps necessary to assess your team’s current skills and areas for improvement. Based on that assessment, you will be able to identify and adopt the evidence-based tools best suited for improving your team’s skills.

This webinar will take place Tuesday, March 15, at 1:00 pm ET, and is included in ASCA’s 2022 Webinar All-Access Pass.

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Data collection for the first quarter (Q1) of ASCA’s 2022 Clinical & Operational Benchmarking Survey opens next month. This valuable online resource provides data you can use to improve clinical outcomes, staff indicators, billing performance and more at your facility.

If you haven’t already, subscribe today so you can submit your data in April and gain a full year of national comparison data.

ASCA members save $150 on subscriptions to the 2022 survey. Purchase your subscription now.

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Candidates who plan to take the May Certified Administrator Surgery Center (CASC)^® exam must submit their application by the end of this month, Thursday, March 31.

Applicants can use ASCA’s virtual course for ASC administrators, Management Essentials for ASC Administrators, to prepare. Participants will learn what ASC leaders need to know about compliance, finance, quality management and human resources—and how to keep up with the latest information about these critical operational areas.

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Visit the ASC Focus website to read the latest edition of the ASC Focus magazine. Highlights of this issue include “Combating the Nursing Shortage,” “Dos and Don’ts of Gynecology in the ASC Setting” and “Expanding Access to Colonoscopies.”

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On February 28, ASCA joined other healthcare organizations to request that Congress extend the 2 percent Medicare sequester moratorium until the end of the public health emergency. Without action, the sequester is set to be phased back in, with a 1 percent cut imposed on April 1, 2022, and the full 2 percent cut resuming July 1, 2022.

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The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) is seeking public comment on proposed revisions to its accreditation standards for ambulatory healthcare. All interested parties, including AAAHC-accredited organizations, surveyors, ambulatory healthcare associations, medical specialty groups, regulatory agencies and the public at large, are encouraged to review and provide comments on the proposed revisions.

The comment period closes Tuesday, March 22 at 5:00 pm CT.

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Study Shows Anesthesia Costs Rise with Corporate Outsourcing

Anesthesiology prices jump significantly after medical facilities contract with corporate physician management companies – especially those backed by private equity firms – and threaten to hike patient costs, according to new research by Weill Cornell Medicine and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health investigators.

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A Tragedy of the Profession: Medscape Physician Suicide Report 2022

Burnout and depression, stress in and out of the office, and the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic have contributed to many physicians feeling despair and hopelessness, which can contribute to having suicidal thoughts. Medscape surveyed more than 13,000 physicians who were frank in sharing their experiences about what led them to consider suicide, how they handled those thoughts, how they try to stay mentally healthy, and how they help colleagues who are going through a dark time.

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CFPB Estimates $88 Billion in Medical Bills on Credit Reports

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today released a report highlighting the complicated and burdensome nature of the medical billing system in the United States. The report reveals that the U.S. healthcare system is supported by a billing, payments, collections, and credit reporting infrastructure where mistakes are common, and where patients often have difficulty getting these errors corrected or resolved.

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Ambulatory Surgery Centers, Transparency, and Industry Flexibility: The Road to Improving U.S. Healthcare

About 15 years ago, I was working as a sales manager for a big box orthopaedic device company when I received a phone call from a self-paying patient inquiring as to why the cost of his implants was $120,000. It was a great question – and one I couldn't answer.

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Tips to Improve Patient Safety in the OR

Even the most routine procedure can quickly become unconventional. A hysteroscopy can result in a uterine–sigmoid colon perforation; a sponge can be left in a patient after surgery; or a patient can develop an infection from a device that wasn’t properly reprocessed.

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COVID-19 Created America's Next Health Care Crisis: The Cancers We Didn't Catch Early

Steve Serrao, chief of gastroenterology at a hospital in Moreno Valley, California, just lived through the fourth wave of Covid-19 with the omicron variant sweeping across the country. Patients in respiratory distress once again filled the hospital’s beds.

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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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