Editor's Note Robotic-assisted surgical procedures are no longer futuristic—they are becoming a mainstay in modern ORs. While Intuitive Surgical’s da Vinci system has led the market since 2001, competitors Medtronic and Zimmer Biomet are building innovative portfolios to challenge its dominance, MarketBeat December 12 reports. Medtronic’s Hugo Robotic Assisted Surgery…

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Editor's Note With the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) market projected to reach $130.6 billion by 2031—a compound annual growth rate of 3.9%—ASC leaders pointed Becker’s ASC Review to key trends and opportunities fueling this growth. Outpatient care continues to expand across various specialties, and several factors are driving this shift,…

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Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) represents a transformative approach in modern surgical care, emphasizing evidence-based, multidisciplinary protocols to optimize patient recovery. Spanning decades, ERAS has grown from a novel concept into a global standard for perioperative care, with benefits that include shorter hospital stays, fewer complications, and reduced healthcare costs.…

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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 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 The CardioVascular Health Clinic in Oklahoma made history by performing the first outpatient trans carotid artery revascularization (TCAR) procedure in the US, Fox 25 September 9 reports. The procedure, which aims to treat carotid artery disease that can lead to strokes, helped the patient in question address a…

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Editor's Note Amid growing concerns over healthcare spending and affordability, there is bipartisan interest in aligning Medicare payments for outpatient services across various care settings through "site-neutral" payments, KFF June 14 reports. As a June 2023 Modern Healthcare article explains, last year Congress reviewed legislation to expand site-neutral payment policies,…

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Editor's Note A recent analysis by the RAND Corporation, a research and analysis nonprofit, revealed a disparity between hospital and ambulatory surgery center (ASC) prices paid by employers and private payers compared to Medicare prices, Revcycle Intelligence May 15 reports. The study, covering data from 2020 to 2022, showed private…

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Editor's Note A new study from UT Southwestern Medical Center shows that total knee replacements performed with the aid of surgical robots generally yield better outcomes compared to traditional manual procedures, but at a higher cost, UT Southwestern’s Newsroom May 7 reports. Published in the Archives of Orthopaedic and Trauma…

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Editor’s Note US hospitals charge approximately 55% higher average fees than ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) for colonoscopies covered by private health insurance. The findings, from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, appeared as a research letter in JAMA Health Forum on December 15. The analysis is one of…

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