United Surgical Partners agrees to $1.48M settlement in 401(k) fee lawsuit
Editor's Note United Surgical Partners International Inc. has agreed to pay $1.48 million to settle a proposed class action alleging its 401(k) plan charged excessive fees and included costly investment options, according to a motion filed in Texas federal court, Law360 January 6 reports. The settlement resolves a lawsuit brought…
High participation in ASCQR program continues, March deadline for reconsideration requests
Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its 2025 Ambulatory Surgical Center Quality Reporting (ASCQR) Program data, showing strong participation among Ambulatory Surgical Centers (ASCs), ASC Focus December 20 reports. Of the 6,012 facilities included in the list, 5,714 will receive the full Annual Payment Update…
Tardiness policies fine-tune rural OR reform efforts
When a speaker at a recent conference asked if anyone had achieved a first-case on-time start (FCOTS) rate above 90%, Jay Parker, BSN, RN, could have been the only one in the room with his hand up. However, Parker was not inclined to call attention to himself. As director of…
Session: Alternative options to funding—Doing more with less
Editor's Note In this OR Manager Conference session focusing on alternative funding options for capital acquisition and related consumables, Steve Spring, BA, executive finance director at Massachusetts General Hospital, outlined various strategies and considerations for managing high-value capital equipment purchases. A core challenge discussed was balancing surgeon demands for advanced…
One expert concerned over drug shortages record high
Editor's Note Erin Fox, senior pharmacy director at University of Utah Health who has been monitoring drug shortages for over 20 years, spoke to AP News in June of her concerns. Currently, the situation is worse than ever, with total active shortages hitting an all-time high of 323 (with 48…
Drug shortages higher than ever
Editor's Note Shortages of active drugs in the US have reached a new record, according to an April 12 CNN report on data from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists and the University of Utah Drug Information Service. The two organizations have been tracking this data since 2001, the CNN report says.…
Compliance with CMS Hospital Price Transparency Rule linked to financial penalties
Editor's Note This study from Harvard Medical School, Boston, and Georgetown University, Washington, DC, finds that hospital compliance with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) 2021 Price Transparency Rule is increasing since financial penalties were enforced. Data from 4,377 acute care hospitals operating in 2021 and 2022 were…
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