Penalties based on number of VTEs unfairly imposed
Editor's Note After a review of 128 case histories, Johns Hopkins researchers find that financial penalties imposed by federal and state agencies on Maryland hospitals based solely on the total number of patients who suffer venous thromboemboli (VTEs) fail to account for those that occur despite the consistent and proper…
Industry payments to nurses not reported in federal database
Editor's Note Though a nurse practitioner in Connecticut pleaded guilty recently to taking $83,000 in kickbacks from a drug company, the payments were not listed in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Open Payments Database. That’s because companies are not required under the Physician Payment Sunshine Act to publicly…
CMS replaces flash sterilization with IUSS
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has replaced the term “flash sterilization” with “immediate use steam sterilization” (IUSS) in surgical settings. The change in terminology, which applies to Medicare-participating hospitals, critical access hospitals, and ambulatory surgical centers that are subject to Conditions of Participation or Conditions of Coverage,…
ASC executives to meet with lawmakers
The Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) annually asks members to participate in a “fly-in” to meet with members of Congress to raise awareness about the implications of health care policies. As ASCA vice president of government relations Steve Miller notes, there is nothing like hearing directly from a constituent to…
How should we charge for preadmission testing?
A column on managing the OR revenue cycle. What are the rules for charging for preadmission testing and postop recovery? How should ORs handle charges for a patient who stays in the OR because a postanesthesia care bed is not available? In this column, Keith Siddel, JD, MBA, an…
Quality reporting for ASCs is off to a good start
Starting October 1, 2012, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) began requiring quality reports on Medicare claim forms from ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). From all indications, complications were few, and ASCs already are using the new statistics to gain insight into operational trends. Ultimately, the self-reports of patient…
2013 IPPS rule advances Medicare quality programs
Medicare’s inpatient prospective payment rule for fiscal year 2013 updates payment rates and adds to quality initiatives like value-based purchasing (VBP) and quality reporting. The rule issued August 1, 2012, takes effect October 1, 2012. Here are the highlights. Payment rates Inpatient payment rates will increase by 2.8% for…
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