Ambulatory Surgery Centers How can leaders of ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) ensure they have a competent staff? First, they must hire staff with the right skill sets, and then they should implement meaningful methods for ongoing assessment. Here are some strategies for meeting these goals. Begin with the hiring process “When you…
Healthcare facilities are places of healing. Sometimes they also can be places of danger and death—just like the rest of the world. When an ambulatory surgery center (ASC) became the site of a fatal stabbing 3 years ago, outpatient surgery leapt into the public eye, and not in a good…
The rare but very serious condition of malignant hyperthermia (MH) remains a risk at all surgical facilities, including ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs). MH occurs in about one in 50,000 adults under anesthesia, and one in about 12,000 children, which translates to one or two deaths annually in the United States.…
Each year, 3 million Americans have cataracts removed, according to the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS). Between the aging population and the increasing number of cataract procedures being performed, it’s not surprising that ophthalmology has led the way in specialties that are moving to the outpatient setting.…
With several months of experience using an updated version of the International Classification of Diseases-10 (ICD-10) diagnosis coding system, most US healthcare providers, including ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), are finding their worst fears have yet to materialize. ‘Lights would go out’ Although Medicare has not yet released data, insurance…
One of the last things ambulatory surgery center (ASC) staff want to do is transfer a patient to a hospital because it increases the risk of infection and patient discomfort, and it’s a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) quality measure (ASC-4). CMS and most states traditionally have not…
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…
Ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) are taking a new look at the question of disaster response. Staff are not always informed about what emergencies might occur, or what they should do in response to the most likely scenarios. Likewise, many local emergency management agencies are not even aware of the ASCs…
Credentialing of physicians and other independent practitioners is facing increased scrutiny from surveyors, professional associations and, in some cases, the public—not necessarily because of compliance failures but because healthcare legislation and technology improvements have made the process a conversation topic. Thus it may be a good time to review the…
Building healthy relationships between leaders and employees is vital to the success of any organization. It’s especially important in perioperative services because of the teamwork needed to provide safe patient care. OR leaders must invest in their employees by fostering trust, job embeddedness, and employee commitment, empowerment, and accountability. …
