ASC Industry News
Check out these articles for some of the latest hot topics in ASC Industry News:
Waste in US Healthcare Spending, Potential for Savings
This study finds that the estimated cost of waste in the US health care system ranges from $760 billion to $935 billion and accounts for some 25% of healthcare spending. Projected potential savings from interventions to reduce waste,…
Source: OR Manager
Providers Mostly Applaud CMS Over Fee Schedule, But Some Specialists Fear Cuts
Lobbying groups for the country’s physicians and hospitals applauded CMS for its 2020 physician fee schedule rule largely due to the agency walking back a previous proposal that aimed to significantly alter how office visits, or evaluation and management (E/M) services, were coded and ultimately reimbursed. Still, the American Medical Association and American Hospital Association were more critical of CMS’ proposal to better streamline multiple programs that tie Medicare reimbursement to quality or value. AHA said considerable revisions are needed to ensure that providers are assessed fairly and accurately in order to receive the appropriate payment.
Source: ASCA/Healthcare Dive
Cybersecurity: Ransomware Attacks Shut Down Clinics, Hospitals
October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month and it arrives not a moment too soon. Ransomware attacks across all industries grew by 118% in the first quarter of the year, according to the August 2019 McAfee Labs Threat Report, and recent news reports reveal that health care-related computer systems are becoming an increasingly popular target for cyber criminals.
Source: ASCA/AMA
Successfully Adding a New ASC Service Line
Growth in most ASCs has resulted from dedicated physician owners who embrace outpatient surgery and continue to use and grow the types of surgery that can be performed in their ASC. These physicians have great pride of ownership. But as founding physicians age and mature in their practices, there is a natural drop off in the ASC’s caseload.
Source: Becker’s ASC Review
While the purposes of quality assurance and performance improvement (QAPI) for ASCs are clear, achieving QAPI objectives can prove challenging. Failure to properly conduct QAPI studies can put an ASC into regulatory hot water with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and jeopardize accreditation status. Furthermore, a poorly performing QAPI program can cause an ASC to miss critical improvement opportunities.
Source: Surgical Information Systems
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