|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
June 7, 2016
|
|
|
|
|
|
Headlines
ASCA Highlights
Industry News
ASCA Highlights
ASCA Introduces Online Payment System for its Regulatory Training Series
ASCA has introduced a new and more convenient online payment system for its Regulatory Training Series. Purchase all 21 interactive courses through ASCA’s web site and start earning continuing education (CE) credits year round right from your computer.
These courses target the special needs of ASC professionals and will help you meet regulatory requirements, orient new staff, achieve top outcomes, assess competency and improve quality of care.
If you attended ASCA 2016 in Dallas, you have until June 30, 2016, to submit your continuing education (CE) credits online. To submit online, you will need your ID number located on the back of your attendee badge. If you no longer have your badge, you can request your ID number by sending an email to?registration@ascassociation.org.
The Joint Commission launched its Total Hip and Knee Replacement Advanced Certification Program and began to accept applications from interested facilities on December 17, 2015. Visit the ASC Focus web site to read more about this new program.
|
|
|
|
|
Why 503B compounding makes sense?
PharMEDium is the leading provider of pharmacy-outsourced, ready to use compounded sterile preparations. PharMEDium helps to: mitigate medication supply issues, enhance patient safety efforts, reduce drug waste and simplify regulatory compliance. PharMEDium, part of AmerisourceBergen, serves 3,000+ hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers through our state-of-the-art FDA Registered 503B Outsourcing Facilities.
|
|
|
Planning has already begun for ASCA 2017, May 3–6, in Washington, DC, and your ideas for session topics and speakers are a valuable part of determining the educational content that the meeting provides every year. Topic and speaker submissions for ASCA 2017 will be accepted through July 31, 2016.
Get tools and information to help you keep your office staff trained and all aspects of your revenue cycle maximized during ASCA’s next webinar “How to Train your Business Office Team to Optimize your Revenue Cycle.” This program will be offered Tuesday, June 14, at 1:00 pm ET.
|
|
|
|
|
|
PolicyStat Makes Surveys Easy and Pain Free
PolicyStat is policy management software that gets your staff the information they need when they need it. You're too busy to spend time searching for the most up to date policies and procedures. Stop searching and get consistently positive survey results with PolicyStat. Learn More
|
|
|
ASCA Benchmarking subscribers can now access their clinical and operational benchmarking reports for the first quarter (Q1) of 2016. View your Q1 reports by logging into the ASCA Benchmarking portal and clicking on the “Run Reports” tab.
If you are not a subscriber, sign up today to get valuable data about your ASC that you can compare with national performance statistics on clinical outcomes, staff indicators, billing performance and more.
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has begun its next phase of HIPAA audits for covered entities and their business associates. OCR will review the policies and procedures adopted and employed by covered entities and their business associates. ASCA has heard from ASCs that received an audit pre-screening questionnaire via email. This screening questionnaire is intended to gather data about the size, types and operations of potential auditees for the HIPAA Privacy, Security and Breach Notification Audit Program. Receiving this notice does not mean your organization has been selected for an audit; rather, your organization is part of a pool from which OCR will select the entities that will be audited this year.
Industry News
Hospitals Fret as Joint Replacements Move to Outpatient Centers
Modern Healthcare (06/04/16) Meyer, Harris
Before Stacey Cook received the first of two hip replacements last year at an outpatient surgery center in Davenport, Iowa, his surgeon, Dr. John Hoffman, told him he would be standing and walking within a few hours and would go home the next morning. Cook, a safety facilitator at Monsanto Co. in his mid-40s, didn't believe it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Affiliate News:
|
|
|
Healthcare Facilities Provide More Information Than Ever to Make Care Safer
Lund Report (06/01/16) Harmon, Valerie
On June 1, the Oregon Patient Safety Commission (OPSC) released a report summarizing the data Oregon healthcare facilities contributed to the Patient Safety Reporting Program (PSRP) in 2015. PSRP is a central location for data that informs patient safety and improvement efforts in Oregon. In 2015, Oregon healthcare facilities contributed more information than ever about adverse events, why they occur, and strategies for making care safer.
'Value Creation' and 'Value Shifting' in Health Care
Health Affairs Blog (06/01/16) Reinhardt, Uwe E.
Corporate executives, the management consultants who advise them, and the financial industry executives who help corporations finance their capital investments tend to believe that whenever their joint work enhances the wealth of a firm's shareholders, they ipso facto enhance also the nation's wealth. It is a soothing narrative, one routinely trotted out to college students in their textbooks of economics, which often slouch vaguely toward propaganda.
Innovation Spotlight: Columbus Eye Surgery Center Looks Back
Columbus CEO (05/16/16) Phillips, Jeb
Outpatient eye surgery facilities now dot Ohio, but when the Columbus Eye Surgery Center opened 20 years ago this spring, the state had never seen anything like it. Eye surgery was the exclusive province of hospitals, according to Richard Orlando, MD, an ophthalmologist and a founder of the center.
Simulation Center Aids Surgeons, Medical Teams
USA Today (06/05/16) Weintraub, Karen
The 9-year-old lay in a coma, her brain filling with blood. Scans showed a nasty tangle of blood vessels, one of which had burst.
How to Manage ICD-10 Implementation Updates, Maximize Revenue
RevCycle Intelligence (06/02/16) Belliveau, Jacqueline
Just as most health care stakeholders reported that ICD-10 implementation ran smoother than expected, CMS will be releasing 5,500 new codes beginning in October. While it may sound like a large update to the system, the new codes could help providers submit more specific claims and boost their reimbursements.
Faulty Hospital Alarms Risk Patient Safety
Medical Daily (05/27/16) Olson, Samantha
It's not unusual to walk down the hall of a hospital wing and hear alarms blaring from within patient rooms. Imagine how nurses, who hear as many as 100 alarms during a single shift, would become desensitized to the noise.
UnitedHealthcare Will Stay on Just Three Exchanges
Minneapolis Star Tribune (06/01/16) Snowbeck, Christopher
The extent of UnitedHealthcare's exit from the nation's health insurance exchanges became clear Wednesday as the company confirmed it will compete in government-run marketplaces for just three states next year. Currently, United competes on the exchanges for 34 states, but is retreating due to large financial losses.
Why Is a Hospital Machine Tied to Superbugs Still in Use?
Bloomberg (05/27/16) Tozzi, John
When going in for a medical procedure, you probably want to be certain the doctor's instruments are clean. Following a recent turnabout by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, that certainty may be a little harder to come by.
Stealing Needles With Painkillers Highlights Issue Tracking Health Workers
Associated Press (06/03/16) Slevin, Colleen
The latest public health scare involving a Colorado surgical technician has revealed states have more work ahead in trying to prevent needle-stealing hospital workers from getting hired. Authorities say an HIV-positive surgical tech stole syringes with fentanyl and endangered patients at a suburban Denver hospital - the third incident of this type in the state in less than a decade.
Money-Back Guarantee: The New Trend in Drug and Device Marketing
STAT News (05/31/16) Numerof, Rita E.
Imagine buying a new car only to learn that it doesn't work as advertised and there's nothing you can do about it. That's essentially what happens when you take a pricey medication or need an expensive medical device like a heart valve or new knee — there's no guarantee it will work and you won't get your money back if it doesn't.
Strategic Approach Helps Providers Benefit From Portals
Health Data Management (06/06/16) Gardner, Elizabeth
The first time Debra Loggia visited her orthopedist, the practice wouldn't allow her to make an appointment until she had signed up for, and signed into, its patient portal. She dutifully did so, and filled out a detailed questionnaire so that her specialist would have all her information in advance.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|