Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on November 1 released a final rule that revises the hospital outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS) and ambulatory surgical center (ASC) payment system for CY 2017. According to the rule, hospital off-campus facilities will no longer be paid the same…

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Ask any group of ambulatory surgery center (ASC) administrators their greatest concern, and the most likely answer will be “reimbursement.” Specifically, they will say Medicare payments do not keep up with their costs and revenue expectations. It does not help that the rules and formulas established by the Centers for…

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Recent developments, including the push to outpatient services, increased consumer engagement, and a focus on outcomes, have made ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) well positioned in the healthcare marketplace. But as with any marketplace, it takes bold thinking and thoughtful strategy to ensure an ASC stands out to consumers, physicians, and…

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Editor's Note A study presented at the 2016 American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Surgeons Annual Meeting found that total ankle replacements performed in ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) were about $4,000 less than those performed in inpatient facilities, the October Orthopedics Today reports. The 4-year study included 574 total ankle replacements…

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Editor's Note Ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) must comply with nondiscrimination requirements in Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act by October 19, the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association announced on September 28. The Act prohibits sex discrimination and requires language assistance for those with limited English proficiency and effective communication for…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on September 16 released its final rule on “Emergency preparedness requirements for Medicare and Medicaid participating providers and suppliers.” The rule establishes requirements to plan for natural and man-made disasters and coordinate with federal, state, tribal, regional, and local emergency…

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Leaders in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) are seeing little to no growth in salary, even through most are experiencing higher surgical volumes, according to the OR Manager 2016 Salary/Career Survey. The average annual salary was $104,721, slightly more than the $102,051 in 2015, but the average total compensation was down…

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Editor's Note The Advisory Panel on Hospital Outpatient Payment (HOP) on August 22 unanimously recommended that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) remove total knees from its inpatient-only list, the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) reports. CMS is requesting information on the feasibility of removing total knees from…

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Editor's Note Outpatient surgery for uncomplicated acute appendicitis is feasible, this study finds. A total of 240 patients were divided into intention-to-treat and per protocol (ie, no preoperative exclusion criteria) groups. There was also a subgroup of patients who were discharged to home the day before surgery. The success rate…

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As surgical volume increases, staffing challenges are trending slightly upward for OR leaders in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), with increases in open positions and turnover, according to the 2016 annual OR Manager Salary/Career Survey. More than half of respondents (56%) reported higher surgical volumes during the past 12 months, significantly…

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