Planning for postoperative care: A key strategy for reducing readmissions
With the expansion of Medicare readmission penalties to elective total-knee and total-hip arthroplasty patients in 2014 comes an increasing demand for OR leaders to ensure better postdischarge care. To avoid readmissions, OR management will have to be more proactive about reducing length of stay and complications and providing for care…
ACA will bring more patients to ASCs--but will profits follow?
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) is affecting every part of the healthcare system, including ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). Whether it will help or hinder ASCs, however, will depend on how adept they are at managing changes in the way they are paid and how they interact with…
Editorial
It’s too soon to measure the success or failure of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which was signed into law in 2010 but is just beginning to be implemented... sort of. Enrollment in health insurance exchanges got off to a rocky start on October 1 because of technological problems, and…
ASCs seek efficiencies to offset decline in reimbursement
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…
Health care reform and the 'Golden Age' of nursing
Perspectives on health care reform vary widely, and some view it negatively. But Kathleen Sanford, DBA, RN, CENP, FACHE, believes it will provide nursing with new opportunities—along with new challenges. Sanford, senior vice president/chief nursing officer at Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI), Englewood, Colorado, will share her perspective during a general…
Surgery centers zero in on savings on supply costs
While the nation concentrates on the consumer implications of health care reform, ambulatory surgery centers (ASC) are examining its provisions for clues to the impact it will have on their operations and revenue. One likely outcome is that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) will transform their supply…
Editorial
Health care reform, the comic book. Why didn’t someone think of this a long time ago? The new book, Health Reform: What It Is, Why It’s Necessary, How It Works (Hill & Wang 2012), tells the story of this complicated legislation in pictures with nary a table or chart. Drawn…
New study benchmarks performance of ASCs
The impact of health care reform on ambulatory surgery centers (ASC)—like that on health care in general—is still uncertain. But plenty of other factors are at work that are likely to play a role in shaping the industry’s future. While the dramatic growth of the 1990s has largely abated, a…
Surgery is front and center in new Medicare value-based purchasing
This year, the quality movement takes a big step with the start of Medicare’s value-based purchasing (VBP) program. Beginning October 1, 2012, part of your hospital’s Medicare payments will be based on your hospital’s performance on a set of quality measures, usually referred to as the core measures and HCAHPS…
Surgery, nursing, and health care reform
David Goodman, MD, MS The rate of hip replacements in Boulder, Colorado, is more than 5 times higher than in Bryan, Texas, which has the lowest rate. Rates for knee replacements also vary widely, with Manhattan's rate only about one-fourth that of Lincoln, Nebraska. Many other types of surgery have…
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