ASCA News Digest

Published June 6, 2023

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ASCA HIGHLIGHTS

Today is the second day of the Materials Management for ASCs virtual course—and it’s not too late to participate!

If you purchase the course now, you can watch today’s live sessions and view all session recordings on demand once the course ends.

This program is available for purchase on its own or as part of the 2023 Virtual Course Bundlewhich gives you three courses for the price of two!
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Participate in ASCA’s free 2023 Salary & Benefits Survey today. This survey collects national, regional and state data on 20+ ASC positions and is a vital tool that assists ASCs in attracting and retaining the best employees.

Data submission will be open for the entire month of June. The survey is open to all ASCs, and there is no cost to participate. Both ASCA members and nonmembers who complete at least 40 percent of the survey will receive personalized results for free.
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Thank you to everyone who came out and joined us in Louisville for the ASCA 2023 Conference & Expo! If you attended the conference, be sure to request your continuing education (CE) credits online via the ASCA 2023 Continuing Education Portal or through the ASCA Meetings app. The deadline to request CE credits is June 30.
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Save the date for the ASCA 2024 Conference & Expo, to be held April 17–20, 2024, in Orlando, Florida. If you have a suggestion for a topic or speaker for ASCA’s next annual conference, please let us know. Submissions for ASCA 2024 will be accepted through June 30. Submit your suggestions today!
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Leading the way in effective pre-op skin preparation

BD ChloraPrep™ patient preoperative skin preparation with sterile solution delivers standardized, powerful, persistent antimicrobial protection that is backed by more than 60 clinical studies and trusted by healthcare providers for more than 21 years.

BD ChloraPrep™ skin preparation is the only skin prep that offers a wide range of coverage areas to fit your ASC’s clinical needs and allows for cost-saving standardized skin prep. Learn more today.
On May 31, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a final rule that withdrew the regulations that mandated COVID-19 vaccination for healthcare personnel. This action, however, does not affect the ASC Quality Reporting (ASCQR) Program measure ASC-20: COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage Among Health Care Personnel. Read this Digital Debut to learn more.
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Policy & Procedure Changes When Implementing an EHR

When it comes to implementing an EHR, there are a lot of steps to consider – internal buy-in, vendor research, implementation, training, support, and the list goes on. One often overlooked step is updating your Policies & Procedures. Maura Cash is the VP of Clinical Strategies here at HST Pathways, and she is here today to walk us through which policies and procedures need to be updated, which need to be created, and why it matters. Make sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode - new podcast episodes are released every Tuesday!
Last month, two ASCA members hosted facility tours for their members of Congress and their staff. On May 8, Allied Physicians Surgery Center in South Bend, Indiana, hosted a facility tour for Representative Rudy Yakym (R-IN). On May 24, Center for Advanced Surgery in Ladson, South Carolina, hosted the staff of Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) for a tour of their surgery center.
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INDUSTRY NEWS

On the day when UnitedHealthcare requirement was set to start a new requirement for endoscopy services, including colonoscopies, the insurance company shifted to a different approach. UnitedHealthcare confirmed Thursday that starting this month, it will no longer require "prior authorizations" for commercial beneficiaries seeking non-screening colonoscopies and other gastroenterology endoscopy services.
CNN (06/01/23) Jacqueline Howard
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A family nurse practitioner in New York City, Jose M. Maria has come to expect overt racism from patients. "I've been called the N-word, I've been called, you name it," he said.
STAT News (05/31/23) Usha Lee McFarling
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is issuing this Health Alert Network Health Update to supplement the CDC HAN Health Advisory issued on May 17, 2023. This Health Update provides updates on the status of the ongoing fungal meningitis outbreak and highlights interim recommendations for diagnosis and treatment.
CDC Health Alert Network (06/01/2023)
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The escalating prevalence of burnout among U.S. health care providers poses "a real threat" to public health, the U.S. surgeon general told ASCO Annual Meeting attendees. "Many of our health care workers are in crisis," Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy, MD, MBA, said during the meeting's opening ceremony.
Healio (06/03/2023) Mark Leiser
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The reported incidence of screenable cancers significantly decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020), suggesting that many patients currently harbor undiagnosed cancers. In addition to the human toll, this will further burden the healthcare system and increase future healthcare costs. It is imperative that providers empower patients to schedule cancer screenings to flatten this pending oncological wave.
Journal of the American College of Surgeons (05/23) Kelsey S. Romatoski; Sophie H. Chung; Kelly Kenzik; et al.
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The World Health Organization recently declared that COVID-19 is no longer a global public health emergency, but the virus will continue to circulate and retain its pandemic status — though the risk of death and severe illness has significantly declined. Before we understood how COVID-19 spread, keeping surfaces clean seemed to be a safe bet for lowering transmission rates.
Medical News Today (05/15/23) Robby Berman
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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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