OR Business
Bill allowing MU Stage 2 hardship exemptions signed into law
Editor's Note A bill designed to make it easier for healthcare providers to receive hardship exemption from financial penalties for failing to meet Stage 2 meaningful use (MU) electronic health record (EHR) requirements was signed into law on December 28, 2015, the January 4, 2016, iHealthBeat reports. The bill ensures…
Fine print in supply contracts often holds keys to cost savings
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…
Survey on transition to ICD-10 finds successes, challenges
Editor's Note A survey of 298 attendees at a November 9 KPMG webinar on the transition to ICD-10 gleaned the following responses: 28% said the transition had been smooth 51% found “a few technical issues but overall successful” 11% described the transition as a “failure to operate in an ICD-10…
ECRI Institute projects $80 billion spend on new drugs, devices
Editor's Note Annual spending on a group of new drug and device therapies may exceed $80 billion if they all make it to market, according to a new report by ECRI Institute. ECRI Institute analyzed the costs of 47 of 700 healthcare interventions with the potential for high impact that…
CMS issues notice on ‘two-midnight’ rule payment cut
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on December 1 published a notice with comment period on the basis for cutting inpatient hospital payments by 0.2% in accordance with its “two-midnight” rule. The notice comes in response to an October 6 court ruling that challenged the payment…
CMS clarifies ICD-10 implementation issues
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reports that it will reprocess ICD-10 claims with National Coverage Determination and Local Coverage Determination errors automatically and at no cost to providers. CMS is also waiting to reprocess some claims with errors resulting from Local Coverage Determinations until Medicare…
Survey: ICD-10 has reduced hospital productivity
Editor's Note In a survey by Himagine Solutions, large hospitals reported a 30% to 45% reduction in productivity for inpatients and a 20% to 40% reduction for outpatients since implementation of the ICD-10 codes, Healthcare Informatics reports. Though loss in productivity can mean a disruption to the revenue cycle, one…
Escape the winter and expand your knowledge at the 2016 OR Business Management Conference
Business managers make up a relatively small percentage of perioperative services staff, but they play an increasingly important role in ensuring quality of patient care. That’s probably one reason for the growing popularity of the annual OR Business Management Conference, which will be held February 21-24, 2016, in Phoenix. The…
Connecticut voters unaware of new 6% tax on ASC procedures
Editor's Note When polled earlier this month, 79% of Connecticut voters did not know a 6% tax on ambulatory surgery center (ASC) procedures had been implemented as part of their new state budget, the West Hartford News reports. The tax, to be paid by service providers, could push 25% of…
Cost-effectiveness of enhanced recovery for colorectal patients
Editor's Note Enhanced recovery pathways are cost-effective compared with conventional perioperative management of colorectal patients, this study finds. Of 180 patients analyzed, mean length of stay was shorter (6.5 vs 9.8 days), return to work was quicker, and there was less care giver burden in the enhanced recovery group. The…
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- Borescope inspections reveal widespread contamination in lumened surgical instruments
- Nursing workforce faces high turnover despite signs of recovery
- FDA issues early alerts for intravascular catheters
- Market volatility threatens hospitals’ liquidity as tariff-driven costs rise
- Study: CT scan radiation could drive 5% of future cancer cases
- New studies, surgical feats advance organ transplant medicine
- Commentary: Cyberattacks threaten financial survival of surgical practices
- Tariffs strain supply chains, split medical manufacturing community
- Study: Systemic gender bias embedded in surgical practice
- Literature review: Endoscope disinfection failures highlight need for stronger sterilization practices