Blogs

Malignant Hyperthermia Prep

By Shannon Hoover posted 02-26-2018
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The ice maker/water dispenser in our ASC has recently broke. In addition to providing water for patients post-op, we use the ice maker as part of our treatment for MH. Just wondering what other ASC's use, as this is a very costly replacement. We have thought about getting a small freezer to store bags of ice and then getting a separate water dispenser. Any ideas/comments/recommendations would be appreciated!
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When ObamaCare is Stressing Your Capital Expenditures Budget

By Charles Bourland posted 04-08-2015
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American Medical Endoscopy is a market leader in the field of endoscopy and specialty surgical instrumentation. We have been buying, selling, trading and leasing surgical equipment for our clients at a minimum of 50% savings for over 20 years. Recently, we helped set up an ASC to do total joint replacement, and for another ASC, we installed multiple Olympus HD G.I. Systems on a lease deal. We are partnered with Strauss Surgical who manufactures our rigid endoscopy systems, and is 100% compatible with Karl Storz. Our precision- engineered HD endoscopes incorporate the latest in micro fiber optic technology, including laser welded bodies and soldered ...
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Mitomycin Disposal after Bladder Installation

By Joyce Hollis posted 02-24-2015
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Would anyone share a policy/procedure on disposal of mitomycin after installation in the bladder? The information from the manufacturer is lacking and they do not return e-mails. Thanks
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Radio Frequency Ablation (RFA) for Barrett's esophagus

By Bruce Davis posted 12-28-2014
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Are any ASC's performing Radio Frequency Ablations (RFA) for Barrett's esophagus?
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credentialed Providers

By Susan Gurwitz posted 11-18-2014
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Does any one know of or can share a policy on the release of information of your credentialed providers. Susan
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Alarm

By Rhonda Lopp posted 09-24-2014
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We do have an alarm at our front desk. Safety is a priority and in this day and time we can not be too safe. The small expense is very much worth it.
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Operating room flooring upgrade

By Cynthia Gress posted 09-18-2014
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I was notified by a Indiana State Board of Health surveyor that when a change in the flooring product ion the operating room was required, the IDOH must be notified and sign off on the new material before it is installed. I encourage you to check with your state department of health prior to purchase and installation of a new product to prevent having a costly re-do because your new floor does not meet some sort of environment of care regulation.
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OR Temps

By Rhonda Lopp posted 08-21-2014
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We keep our OR's at 65 degrees. Some docs would like it warmer and some cooler. They do not get the option due 65 degrees is what keeps our humidity within limits.
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trypan blue

By Bobbi Henderson posted 06-19-2014
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I buy it from Dutch Ophthalmics. It's expensive at $505.00 for a box of 10.
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annual infection control education for physicians

By James Smith posted 04-18-2014
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We use ASCpro. They have a good training program, very fast and efficient, and reasonably priced.
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downtime jobs for staffing

By Dawn O'Mahoney posted 04-10-2014
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At our facility during downtime hours, we have a list of things that need to be regularly done. 1. pre-op phone calls/assessments are done 3-5 days prior to their DOS, these are usually done during downtime hours. 2. post op phone calls are done 24-72 hours after DOS by the nurses during center hours when case volume is slow or patients are gone from the facility. 3. in the OR the staff restock rooms, pick cases for the upcoming days, dust bins, cabinets, shelfs, etc. 4. twice a yr (in December and June) we do a supply inventory audit this is done during downtime hours and usually takes 8 hours or more so we like to chose a time when there will be little ...
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Anesthesia Audit

By Dawn O'Mahoney posted 04-04-2014
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Just as we have the physician's audit 10% of the case volume we do the same with Anesthesia. Usually each quarter we pull 10% of the volume and have our Medical Director (who is an Anesthesiologist) audit the charts. We've developed an audit form specific for Anesthesia and the data collected is reported to both the Quality Committee and the Medical Advisory Board on a quarterly basis.
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Outsourced Billing FAQs

By Kate Slomkowski posted 04-02-2014
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FAQs based on recent webinar with Becky Ziegler-Otis, administrator at the Ambulatory Surgery Center of Steven’s Point, and Ann Geier, SourceMed’s VP Informatics. What functions does a medical biller perform? Billers are largely responsible for financial stability. Whether or not a facility gets paid can depend on how effective the biller is at submitting complete, accurate claims in a timely fashion. Some of the functions that medical billers perform include: Medical Coding by credentialed coders, who review information about the services that patients received and the procedures they underwent. They apply ICD9-CM codes (to describe the patient ...
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House just passed HR 4302 SGR fix which includes delaying ICD-10 to October 1st, 2015

By Kate Slomkowski posted 03-27-2014
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Huge news for ICD-10 Implementation! Read the article on Modern Healthcare for all the details...
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Standing orders

By Mary DiMauro posted 03-20-2014
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We are an ophthalmology center and used standing orders for years with annual review and physician sign off. The NYS DOH inspection sited us for them and said they are not "legal" to use. We formulated new order sheets for the offices and have them signed by the surgeon prior to patient admission.
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weight limit

By Annette Morrison posted 02-26-2014
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We have a free standing ASC and have a weight limit of 350lbs. Annette Morrison RNCGRN Nurse Manager San Antonio, Tx
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Medication Reconciliation

By Sophia Abdo posted 02-21-2014
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That is incorrect, it does not have to be a surgeon. Here, at Union Pines Surgery Center, we do a pre-op call asking the patient what medications they are taking. When they arrive in admit we verify and mark what meds they took the morning of surgery. When the patient arrives to recovery, we instruct them to continue home medications. The one thing you have to do is one of their home meds is a narcotic...instruct the patient to only take the narcotic prescribed and hold the home narcotic until otherwise instructed by their doctor. This has to be in you nursing notes for compliance and be specific naming the home narcotic in the note. I got this information ...
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SourceMedical and LaClaro Announce Partnership

By Kate Slomkowski posted 02-06-2014
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Partnership will enhance workflow automation and management reporting for ASCs BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Source Medical Solutions, Inc. , the nation's leading provider of specialized software and billing services to outpatient surgery centers, specialty hospitals and rehabilitation centers, announced today it has entered into a partnership with LaClaro, Inc. to provide work flow automation tools and advanced management reporting. This partnership will enable surgery center back-offices to systematically standardize workflow processes, as well as to provide analytics on-demand to SourceMedical clients using any of the company's three software platforms: Vision™, ...
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CRNA Compensation

By Annette Morrison posted 01-30-2014
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We too have contracted the anesthesia services which includes CRNA'S . With the volumn flat around this time of the year , we do have the ability to cancel 48 hours prior to the day if not needed, and utilize cs with staff RN . Annette Morrison RNCGRN Nurse Manager GCSA San Antonio, Texas
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How To Manage ASC Billing Processes Like a Pro

By Kate Slomkowski posted 01-15-2014
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Are you handling your billing processes like a boss? Becker’s ASC Review ‘s latest article on managing ASC Billing processes is an ode to efficiency and effectiveness. In the busy ambulatory surgery center environment, it’s difficult to properly manage billing. Many ASC’s are hoping to turn around their billing habits in 2014 and collect the data needed to account for lost revenue. In order to maximize revenue, it’s important to analyze your center for several key factors. Optimized scheduling . Automated scheduling platforms can be an affordable solution to minimizing canceled appointments and no-shows. Effective use of EMR . Electronic health ...
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