Editor's Note This session on converting hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs) into ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), presented at the recently concluded OR Manager Conference, saw Joan Dentler, MBA, founder of Avanza Healthcare Strategies, share practical insights for healthcare leaders contemplating this transition. Dentler began by highlighting the history of ASCs, which…

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Editor's Note Doctors facing inflationary and operational cost increases are decrying recently finalized 2025 Medicare reimbursement rates, according to a November 4 report in Healthcare Dive. The 2025 rates reduce physician payments by 2.9% while increasing rates for hospital outpatient departments and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) by 2.9%, the outlet…

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Editor's Note “There's nothing worse than putting a contract together, only for the anesthesia providers to say, ‘Oh, no, we're not going to do that,” Mindy Gingery, MSN, CRNA, ARNP, president of Heartland Anesthesia & Consulting, said, opening this morning session on anesthesia contract best practices for ambulatory surgery centers…

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Editor's Note A system-wide preoperative nutrition program resulted in shorter hospital stays and fewer postoperative complications across the Allegheny Health Network, according to a study presented at the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress 2024. Medical Xpress reported the news October 18. According to the article, researchers analyzed data from…

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Editor's Note Research shows repeated fasting for multiple surgeries during a single hospital stay significantly raises the risk of protein-calorie malnutrition, leading to longer recovery times, increased healthcare costs, and a higher likelihood of death. HealthDay covered the news October 21. Presented at the American Society of Anesthesiologists annual meeting,…

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Editor's Note A study led by researchers at Yeshiva University showed an educational intervention program significantly improved perioperative nurses’ understanding of pressure-injury prevention, with the benefits lasting for at least six months following the training. Results were published August 23 in Applied Nursing Research. Conducted among 354 nurses from 11…

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Editor's Note A Senate report reveals that Medicare Advantage insurers are increasingly prioritizing profits over patient care by ramping up the use of prior authorization to deny necessary services, particularly post-acute care, for older adults, Becker’s Hospital Review reported October 17. In May 2023, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations…

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Editor's Note Iranian cyber actors employing techniques such as brute force, password spraying, and multifactor authentication (MFA) "push bombing" to compromise healthcare and other critical infrastructure sectors, the American Hospital Association (AHA) reported October 17. The report cites an October 16 joint advisory issued on October 16 by the FBI,…

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Editor's Note Combining newer weight loss drugs with bariatric surgery is the most cost-effective long-term strategy for treating obesity, according to research presented at the American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress 2024. Medical Xpress reported on the findings October 18. According to the article, researchers from Northwestern Medicine evaluated the…

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Editor's Note AI and machine learning (ML) models show significant promise in enhancing preoperative estimates of surgical control time (SCT), which are frequently wrong, according to a study published September 10 in Perioperative Care and Operating Room Management. The longitudinal study examined differences between predicted and actual SCTs, broken down…

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