The impact of health care reform on ambulatory surgery centers (ASC)—like that on health care in general—is still uncertain. But plenty of other factors are at work that are likely to play a role in shaping the industry’s future. While the dramatic growth of the 1990s has largely abated, a…

Read More

Cataract surgery, almost exclusively outpatient, can have a serious complication if instruments retain a chemical residue after cleaning. It is known as TASS, for toxic anterior segment syndrome. Ophthalmologists say it is rare, but there are no consistent data to indicate when, where, and how often TASS occurs. The Food…

Read More

For a variety of reasons, survey inspectors this year are looking more closely at ambulatory surgery centers (ASC) and other outpatient facilities for evidence of compliance with sharps-safety guidelines. Bloodborne pathogens, of course, have been a concern since awareness of HIV and hepatitis C emerged. Physicians and nurses have long…

Read More

Patients are getting heavier, and outpatients are no exception. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) classifies nearly one-third of Americans as obese. Meanwhile, the number of procedures deemed suitable for ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) is increasing. That is not a problem if patients are properly screened, experts agree,…

Read More

Starting now, in January 2012, ambulatory surgery centers (ASC) and hospital outpatient departments need to be using a safe surgery checklist and keep using it through all of the calendar year. That’s one quality measure in Medicare’s new ASC quality reporting program set forth in the 2012 outpatient payment rule…

Read More

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposes new quality measures, including a new quality reporting program for ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), in its proposed 2012 outpatient rule issued July 1, 2011. The rule applies to hospital outpatient departments and ASCs. Comments are accepted until August 30. A final…

Read More

Laptops are stolen from a physician's office in a break-in, compromising data for hundreds of patients. An employee loses a personal hard drive that contains patient data. A radiologist joins a new outpatient facility and contacts patients from his previous employer, using information he downloaded before he left. Is your…

Read More

The technology of pain relief is improving constantly, and ambulatory surgery centers (ASC) are finding that staying abreast of this growing specialty serves patients as well as their bottom line. For the increasingly complex orthopedic procedures that are migrating to the outpatient setting, pain management is a critical element. Sufferers…

Read More

Pain management procedures have exploded in ambulatory settings, just as GI endoscopy and cataract surgery did previously. More than 1.5 million low-back injections for the treatment of pain or mobility problems are conducted each year, and that number is expected to rise as the population ages. Injections for low back…

Read More

A new bill introduced in the US Congress June 3, 2011, if passed, would place ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) on what the ASC industry says is a more equal footing with hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs) in their Medicare payment updates. ASCs currently are reimbursed at 56% of the amount paid…

Read More