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November 8, 2016
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Headlines
ASCA Highlights
Industry News
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Affiliate News
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ASCA Highlights
This Coding Seminar Will Help Your ASC Get Paid
ASCA's annual winter coding meeting—Coding Update and Reimbursement Strategies Seminar—is just a couple months away. This comprehensive program, taking place January 12–14 in San Antonio, will cover coding tips for commonly performed ASC procedures, coding accuracy and productivity assessment, Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) guidelines and issues, best practices and more. Register today.
Participants will get up to 16.75 units of AEU credit from the Board of Ambulatory Surgery Certification (BASC).
Protect your ASC from future Medicare payment cuts. Register now for ASCA’s next webinar, "CMS Quality Reporting for ASCs," presented by Gina Throneberry, RN, CASC, and Donna Slosburg, RN, CASC, on Tuesday, November 15, at 1:00 pm ET. During this free program, you will learn which quality measures you need to report in 2017 and how you can meet all of the reporting requirements. Click here to register.
ASCA's Salary and Benefits Survey is a valuable tool for budget preparation. The most recent survey results include data on 20 ASC job positions, employee benefits and ASC demographics.
ASCs that did not participate in the survey last year or responded to fewer than 50 percent of the questions can purchase online access to the final results using the "Purchase Results" button on the Salary and Benefits Survey Page.
Make sure you have everything you need to manage your ASC in 2017 by renewing your ASCA membership. Your membership allows you to connect with colleagues, stay ahead of regulatory requirements, get the news you need about new developments that affect your ASC and more. It also gives you access to discounted opportunities to benchmark your clinical operations and earn continuing education credit. To renew, click here.
Registration is now available for ASCA 2017, Wednesday to Saturday, May 3–6, in Washington, DC. With more than 60 educational sessions and multiple opportunities to network with thousands of ASC professionals from around the country, ASCA’s annual meetings are consistently the premier ASC meetings of the year. Learn more and register today.
The first ASC in West Africa is seeking an administrator with experience managing and operating an ASC. LuccaHealth Medical Specialty Center, slated to open in spring 2018 in Accra, Ghana, will have two operating rooms and a diverse staff that includes Ghanaian and expatriates from the US. The center will offer several specialties, including general surgery, gastroenterology, gynecology, otolaryngology and internal medicine/cardiology. By 2019, LuccaHealth is projecting to provide 24,000 specialty consultations, 5,500 surgical procedures and 24,000 diagnostic imaging procedures annually. LuccaHealth has partnered with New York University’s School of Medicine to offer patient consultations in Accra and referrals for more complex surgeries to New York University Langone Medical Center.
If you are interested in the position or would like to learn more, email Matt Stremlau at stremlau@gmail.com.
The bundled payment methodology can be successful in the ambulatory setting for commercially insured patients. But is it right for your ASC?
Visit the ASC Focus web site to learn about what is required for a successful bundle, the potential benefits of the ambulatory bundled payment model and the results of an ASC bundled payment initiative in California.
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Are your Medicare policies current?
Demonstrating continuous compliance with Medicare standards just got a whole lot better. PolicyStat makes it easy to keep policies current, ensuring your patients receive the safest and highest quality care. Stop wondering if your policies are current and start managing them more efficiently.
Learn More
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Nonmembers of ASCA can read the November/December issue of ASC Focus magazine online until November 15. Please share this news with your colleagues who are not members of ASCA so they can see what this magazine offers and get better acquainted with ASCA. ASCA members receive a free subscription to the magazine as part of their association membership.
On November 1, the OPPS/ASC payment rule was released. ASC payment rates will increase by 1.9 percent in 2017. This increase is based on a projected rate of inflation of 2.2 percent minus a 0.3 percentage point productivity adjustment required by the Affordable Care Act. This increase is larger than the 1.2 percent effective update that was included in the proposed rule. ASCA is conducting a comprehensive review of the rule, and will provide more analysis in the coming weeks. A comparison of the reimbursement rates in 2016 and 2017 for the top 100 ASC codes by volume available here.
CMS also finalized seven new measures to be added for 2020 payment determinations.
For more information, contact Kara Newbury at knewbury@ascassociation.org.
Industry News
2016 Physician Leadership Compensation Survey Results Released
PR Newswire (11/03/16)
Cejka Executive SearchS--in partnership with the American Association for Physician Leadership--today announced the results of the 10th biennial Physician Leadership Compensation Survey. According to the survey, total median compensation for physicians in leadership in 2016 is $350,000, a three-year gain of 8 percent since the last survey in 2013.
Local Orthopedist Now Helps Command the Biggest Practice of Its Kind in the U.S.
Washington Post (11/06/16) Heath, Thomas
When Louis Levitt graduated from the Medical College of Virginia more than three decades ago, the path for most orthopedic surgeons was to work for a hospital, join a private practice--or both. Like a lawyer's pursuit of a partnership, you patiently worked your way from newbie to set-for-life status, enjoying the money and stability that went with it.
West Wilshire Medical Surgical Center Receives Excellence Award From California Ambulatory Surgery Association
PR Watch (11/03/2016)
California Ambulatory Surgery Association announced that West Wilshire Medical Surgical Center is among the inaugural recipients of their ASC Excellence Award. The awards were established to acknowledge that California ASCs are drivers of excellent healthcare, providing opportunities and solutions for health care reform.
Kate Cooper of Truckee Surgery Center Named 'Best Boss'
Sierra Sun (Calif.) (11/02/2016)
Several Truckee-Tahoe locals were honored Oct. 20 at the Third Annual Best Boss contest sponsored by The Office BOSS Truckee Mail Center. "We had a lot of high-quality nominations this year, so it was a difficult task for our panel of judges to decide on just one winner," Carrie Ridgel, co-owner of The Office BOSS, told the audience of nominees, nominators and friends at an award ceremony at The Office BOSS Truckee Mail Center.
MNsure Enrollment Surge Prompted by Cost & Access Concerns
Associated Press (11/03/16)
The state's health insurance exchange says they've signed up 10,000 residents for coverage in the first two days of open enrollment. MNsure is handling record levels of traffic this year.
First National Quality Improvement Program for Weight Loss Surgery Reduces Readmissions by More Than 30 Percent for Some Hospitals
Science Daily (11/02/2016)
While the average hospital saw 30-day readmission rates for weight-loss surgery patients drop by about 14 percent, some hospitals had reductions as much as 32 percent after implementing a new quality improvement program, according to new research presented today at ObesityWeek 2016, the largest international event focused on the basic science, clinical application and prevention and treatment of obesity. The annual conference is hosted by the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) and The Obesity Society (TOS).
Anthem Threatens Obamacare Retreat If Results Don't Improve
Bloomberg (11/02/16) Tracer, Zachary
Health insurer Anthem Inc., which has so far stuck with the Obamacare markets as rivals pulled back, said it may retreat in 2018 if its financial results under the program don't improve next year. Anthem's comments up the stakes for the Obama administration as the enrollment season for 2017 Affordable Care Act plans begins, with consumers already facing fewer choices and higher premiums in many markets.
WEDI Clarifies Clinical Documentation in 2017 ICD-10 Guidance
EHR Intelligence (10/31/2016) Heath, Sara
The Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI) has released an issue brief on clinical documentation and the 2017 ICD-10 Official Guidelines. The 2017 guidelines include a specific provision about clinical documentation.
First Cases of Candida auris Reported in United States
CDC News Release (11/04/16)
Thirteen cases of Candida auris (C. auris), a serious and sometimes fatal fungal infection that is emerging globally, have been identified in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Seven of the cases occurred between May 2013 and August 2016 and are described today in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
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