One of the last things ambulatory surgery center (ASC) staff want to do is transfer a patient to a hospital because it increases the risk of infection and patient discomfort, and it’s a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) quality measure (ASC-4). CMS and most states traditionally have not…

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Editor's Note The Oregon Outpatient Surgery Center (Tigard, Oregon) is the first ambulatory surgery center in the Northwest to perform same-day total hip replacements, the January 4 Oregonian reports. The center offers both posterior and anterior total hips for qualified patients. Patients are carefully screened and must be in good…

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Editor's Note The new Josie Robertson Surgery Center, opened by Memorial Sloan Kettering (New York City), is a first-of-its-kind facility that allows cancer patients to go home within a day of significant surgical procedures. The surgery center has 12 ORs and can accommodate 60 surgical procedures per day. Surgeons, anesthesiologists,…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on December 16 announced that ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) subject to a reduction in Medicare outpatient payments in CY 2016 because of noncompliance with the ASC quality reporting program may submit a request for reconsideration by March 17, 2016. Eligible…

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Editor's Note California Senate Bill 396, designed to strengthen regulation of unlicensed outpatient surgery settings, goes into effect January 1, 2016, the Joint Commission reports. The Bill builds upon existing regulations that mandate facility accreditation of ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) and office-based surgery practices that are not state licensed or…

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When it comes to buying medical-surgical supplies, quality, safety, and physician comfort are foremost—but that doesn’t mean price is no object. Even though ambulatory surgery center (ASC) staff often lack materials management expertise, they can achieve cost savings in several ways, especially if they brush up on terms used in…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved the administration of an Outpatient and Ambulatory Surgery Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (OAS CAHPS) Survey. The voluntary survey, which will start in 2016, includes 37 questions that will collect information monthly about a patient’s experience…

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Editor's Note The US Department of Health & Human Services Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released its 2016 Work Plan announcing new initiatives for ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), the ASCA News Digest reports. The initiatives include: Review the appropriateness of Medicare’s methodology for setting ASC payment rates. Revitalize outdated…

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Ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) are taking a new look at the question of disaster response. Staff are not always informed about what emergencies might occur, or what they should do in response to the most likely scenarios. Likewise, many local emergency management agencies are not even aware of the ASCs…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission is recognizing 40 years of accrediting ambulatory healthcare organizations with an online repository featuring photos, testimonials, and interviews with customers, staff, and surveyors. The ambulatory program covers a wide variety of organizations, including ambulatory surgery centers, cath labs, clinics, and imaging centers. Since 1975, the…

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