Editor's Note Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) graduate medical students will now receive part of their resident training at MEDARVA Healthcare’s ambulatory surgery center (ASC) in Richmond, the April 19 Virginia Business reports. Residents in eight programs will rotate through Stony Point Surgery Center with VCU surgeons who use the facility.…

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What began as an employee request to reduce waste and create a “greener” workplace has resulted in an international award for TRIA Orthopedic Center, Bloomington, Minnesota. By conserving materials and energy, the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) not only reduced its environmental impact, but also saved money. The initiative started with…

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Editor's Note Outpatient laparoscopic appendectomy is safe in a public safety net hospital and results in shorter length of stay and decreased healthcare costs, this study finds. A total of 351 patients were enrolled in the study: 173 outpatients and 178 inpatient controls. Of the 173 outpatients, 113 were discharged…

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Editor's Note A March 23 report by Axios finds “massive consolidation among ambulatory surgery centers” (ASCs), and more is expected because about half of some 5,500 ASCs are not owned by chains. ASCs are becoming a target for acquisition because they are high-profit organizations. Recent financial reports show: Envision Healthcare (260…

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Total joint procedures are gradually moving to ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) as technology, medical expertise, and cost pressures combine to make the ASC an increasingly attractive alternative to an acute care hospital. The key to success for these and other complex procedures, experts say, is a combination of careful planning,…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced March 3 that they are collaborating on a project designed to adapt, enhance, and disseminate CDC guidelines related to infection prevention in ambulatory healthcare settings. The goal of the initiative, called “ADOPT (Adaptation and Dissemination Outpatient…

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Editor's Note Implementation of a Perioperative Surgical Home (PSH) program for patients undergoing ambulatory laparoscopic cholecystectomy in a Kaiser Permanente practice model was associated with significantly reduced length of stay and unplanned hospital admission in this study. The analysis included 878 patients in the preimplementation period and 1,082 in the…

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Aging and active Americans are refusing to let back problems slow them down—the number of these patients is increasing, and they prefer the less invasive outpatient methods offered in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). So do their physicians. As a result, ASCs seeking to adopt new procedures are looking more closely…

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Editor's Note Surgical site infections (SSIs), especially serious infections resulting in hospitalization or surgical treatment, were associated with significantly increased health care costs after four common ambulatory surgical procedures, this study finds. The incidence of serious SSIs was 0.8% after 21,062 anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions, 0.5% after 57,750 cholecystectomies, 0.6%…

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Editor's Note New Massachusetts (Mass) state regulations approved January 11 allow freestanding ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) to apply for permission to expand or offer new lines of procedures without being affiliated with an acute care hospital, the January 19 Enterprise News reports. The new regulations lift a 20-year moratorium on…

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