Surgical volume is stable or increasing in nearly two-thirds of ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), according to the 23rd annual OR Manager Salary/Career Survey. More than two-thirds (68%) of survey respondents also report that their ASCs have not experienced financial difficulties as a result of current economic conditions. These results may…

About 70% of respondents to a nationwide survey of ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) say they are trying to cut costs in reaction to changes brought about by healthcare reform. That’s the major finding of a nationwide survey of 359 administrators, directors, and office managers in ASCs, cancer centers, home health…

It sounds like déjà vu all over again, as Yogi Berra used to say. That is likely to be the first reaction of many ambulatory surgery center (ASC) administrators to the Calendar Year 2014 Ambulatory Surgical Center Payment Proposed Rule.   Pay formula unchanged Medicare payment updates would continue at…

Although economic difficulties have started to ease in some areas of the US, many ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) are still feeling the pinch, according to the 23rd annual OR Manager Salary/Career Survey. More than one-fourth (28%) of respondents say economic conditions have caused financial difficulties for ASCs primarily because of…

The patient, an elderly woman, arrived at Red Rocks Surgery Center in Golden, Colorado, for an ophthalmology procedure. A paraplegic, she was using a scooter chair. Administrator Jane Klinglesmith, BS, RN, CNOR, watched her checking in at the admissions desk and noticed she was on dialysis. As she approached, Klinglesmith…

Compounding pharmacies have long been valued for their ability to tailor prescription drugs for specific patients. More recently, they have helped conserve scarce drugs by redistributing them from larger to smaller single-use vials. For an ambulatory surgery center (ASC) that is not associated with a hospital and therefore has no…

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…

Ambulatory surgery patients who become incapacitated should have their wishes for care honored, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) stresses in its new guidelines. Previously, the guidelines permitted an ambulatory surgery center (ASC), for reasons of conscience or policy, to refuse to honor advance directives calling for cessation…

A perennial concern associated with surgery is avoidance of infection. As science reveals new risks and remedies, protocols change and so do regulations. To monitor infection control at ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), surveyors use a 15-page worksheet from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The ASC Infection Control…

Anyone undergoing surgery is at heightened risk of falling, especially during recovery from sedation, and for the most vulnerable patients, a fall can be disabling or even deadly. Falls are among the adverse events monitored by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and state surveyors. The science of assessing…