Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its Medicare physician fee schedule proposed rule for 2023, “which suggests further cuts to physician pay while inflation and the cost of running an independent practice continue to rise,” Becker’s ASC Review July 8 reports. The proposed rule would…

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Editor's Note According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Quality, Certification, and Oversight Reports (QCOR) page, which gives the public access to citation frequency reports, infection control was a top area of focus for CMS surveyors in 2021, the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association journal ASC Focus June…

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Pressure to contain opioid overuse in the United States is at a boiling point. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that overdose deaths linked to opioid prescriptions have increased fivefold over the last two decades. To reduce reliance on opioid prescriptions, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services…

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Editor's Note There were no increased risks of complications or readmissions after total hip replacements (THRs) and total knee replacements (TKRs) performed in a community-based ambulatory surgery center (ASC), finds this study reported in a Poster Session March 14 at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in Las Vegas. A…

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Editor's Note Removal of multiple herniated or degenerative discs in the neck, known as anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF), can be safely performed in an outpatient setting, finds this study presented March 13 at the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in Las Vegas. Of 103 patients included in the…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on March 6 announced that it is moving the inpatient and outpatient Total Hip and Total Knee Replacement (THKR) implementation guides from the performance measure webpage to the 2019 Specifications Manual for Joint Commission National Quality Measures. The Manual was published in February. The move will…

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When considering educational needs in an ASC, you may have an advantage over your hospital peers. Many ASCs have specialty-specific physicians and patient populations, whereas other ASCs will have a more diverse physician group and patients. Regardless of facility specialty, employees are likely to have multiple generational learning styles. All surveying…

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Editor's Note In this study of adult surgical patients across all ages, frailty was associated with higher postoperative rates of major illness and readmissions as well as increased costs. Of 14,530 patients (31.9% inpatient, 68.1% outpatient) analyzed, 3.4% had high frailty (5.3% of inpatients and 2.5% of outpatients). Compared with…

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Editor's Note The Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) on February 26 announced that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released a Memorandum Summary with updates to Appendix Z of the State Operations Manual, which outlines the Emergency Preparedness requirements for CMS providers and suppliers. The primary change that affects…

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