Tag: ASCA

August poll results: Service line shifts push ASCs to expand capacity, redefine readiness

The migration of surgical cases from inpatient settings to ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) continues to reshape perioperative leadership in 2025. Nationally, the trend is driven by payer incentives, patient preference, and cost pressures, with ASCs now performing more orthopedic, spine, and complex outpatient procedures than ever before. In fact, the…

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By: Tarsilla Moura
September 3, 2025
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Expert lessons on building successful total joints programs in ASCs

By 2022, orthopedic procedures performed in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) were already outpacing expectations. For years, total hip and knee replacements were considered too complex for same-day surgery. Yet, total joints replacement volumes jumped nearly 200% between 2020 and 2022—outpatient total knee arthroplasty surged nearly 194%, while total hip arthroplasty…

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By: Tarsilla Moura
August 26, 2025
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Mind the gap: Why Medicare pays ASCs less than HOPDs—and what that means

For decades, ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) have shown their ability to deliver high-quality surgical care at substantially lower cost than hospital outpatient departments (HOPDs). ASCs achieve these savings through leaner operations, streamlined staffing models, and specialty-focused efficiencies, not by compromising safety or outcomes. Studies consistently highlight procedures performed in ASCs…

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By: Tarsilla Moura
August 19, 2025
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CMS 2026 proposed rule: Expanded ASC access, higher payments, tighter quality reporting

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) just proposed sweeping changes to the Medicare Shared Savings Program and Physician Fee Schedule for calendar year 2026, including extensive changes to outpatient Medicare policy such as payment increases, expanded procedural access, and new quality reporting updates, as outlined in…

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By: Tarsilla Moura
July 16, 2025
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DOJ task force, insurers target ASC barriers with parallel reforms

Editor's Note Federal regulators and major insurers are independently moving to ease long-standing burdens on ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), potentially reshaping the regulatory and administrative landscape in which perioperative leaders operate. According to Ambulatory Surgery Center News June 23, ASC stakeholders are actively engaging with the new Anticompetitive Regulations Task…

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By: Tarsilla Moura
June 25, 2025
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ASCA 2025: Leading lawmaker reflects on surgery center priorities

Editor's Note At the 2025 Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) conference, discussion of legislative priorities extended beyond educational sessions. Thanks to a visit from the ranking lawmaker of the congressional subcommittee responsible for most healthcare policymaking, attendees also got first-hand insight into the latest negotiations on Capitol Hill. US Representative…

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By: Matt Danford
May 6, 2025
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ASCA 2025: How accounting becomes an ASC revenue generator

Editor's Note Terry A. Bohlke, MSHA, CPA, CMA, CASC, emphasized that Rocky Mountain High Surgery Center is a pseudonym “to protect the innocent,” but the numbers he presented at the 2025 Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) Conference & Expo in Denver last week were real enough. Based on actual scenarios…

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By: Matt Danford
May 6, 2025
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ASCA 2025: Flexibility, foresight prevent costly ASC design mistakes

Editor's Note A thoughtful, operations-driven approach to ambulatory surgery center (ASC) facility design can prevent major delays, costly change orders, and inefficient workflows down the line, according to a May 2 presentation from Akshay Tavkar, MBA, CMPE, CASC, principal and managing director of Skyline Healthcare Solutions, LLC, at the Ambulatory…

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By: Matt Danford
May 6, 2025
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ASCA conference coverage to keep ASC leaders informed

Editor's Note OR Manager is onsite for the 2025 ASCA Conference & Expo, which is reportedly bringing more than 2,200 ambulatory surgery center (ASC) professionals to the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center in Aurora, Colorado, for 4 days of education and networking.  Next week, ASC Leader Weekly will offer…

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By: Matt Danford
April 29, 2025
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OAS CAHPS compliance soars to 96% among ASCs, vendor satisfaction also improves

Editor's Note Ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) across the US have quickly adapted to the new federal requirement mandating participation in the Outpatient and Ambulatory Surgery Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (OAS CAHPS) Survey, according to a March 2025 "60-Second Survey" from ASCA. The survey captured responses from 261…

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By: Tarsilla Moura
April 16, 2025
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