ASCA 2018 Kicks Off in Boston

Debra Stinchcomb, MBA, BSN, RN, CASC

The ASCA 2018 national meeting is in the great city of Boston this year. As in previous years, I was invited to moderate the pre-meeting workshop for the CASC Review Course. This year, I was joined at the podium by John Goehle, MBA, CASC, CPA who presented on Finance, and Mary Ryan, MBA, BSN, RN, CASC who presented Quality Management and Patient Care Delivery. I addressed the topics of Human Resources and the legal and regulatory issues that ASC Administrators need to be familiar with. It was a long but productive day for all participants. Many of the attendees are taking the CASC exam on Saturday. We look forward to another wave of CASC recipients.

ASCA 2018 officially kicked off with the general session in the evening Wednesday, followed by the Exhibit Hall Reception. It is always great to see old industry friends and colleagues as well as take in all the new information provided. At the Joint Commission booth, I spoke with Michael Kulczycki, the executive director of the Ambulatory Division along with Pearl Darling and Alisha Morrison, who is our representative. Back in March, Michael asked one of our consultants, Crissy Benze, to write for their blog. Her article “Infection Control Program Elements to Remember” has already been viewed 5,761 times – highest for TJC Ambulatory Buzz so far in 2018.

A few things I learned so far at the meeting that could be useful:

• Interested in a certification for your IC Coordinator? In 2018, the Board of Ambulatory Surgery Certification (BASC)™ introduced the new Certified Ambulatory Infection Preventionist (CAIP)™ The CAIP credential is primarily intended for licensed health care professionals interested in demonstrating their understanding of the skills and knowledge required to fill the role of an ASC infection preventionist. CAIP is the first credential designed specifically for infection preventionists in the ASC industry. The first CAIP exam period is scheduled for October 1–31, 2018.
• Surgical Information Systems (SIS) describes their mission “to deliver solutions and services that help surgery providers, regardless of care setting, improve their organization so they can deliver the highest level of care to their patients.” We recommend them as an Information System solution for ASCs and are happy to learn they have altered their EMR to work with the revenue/expense platforms for both Amkai and Source Medical products. This will help standardize the EMR product they offer for all clients.
• Hot off the press: As of July, Florida will no longer require Risk Managers to be licensed. The new requirement is that they must be “qualified”. Facilities in Florida should stay tuned for more information on what can be defined as “qualified” in the coming months to assure compliance.
• Panicked about submitting your NHSN Agreement to Participate and Consent by April 14th? This user agreement and data consent form is required to use NHSN, the surveillance-system for reporting measure ASC-8 Influenza Vaccination Reporting. All facility administrators and primary contacts should have received an email notification that the new consent form is available. You can rest easy for now. The deadline to complete the updated NHSN Agreement to Participate and Consent form has been extended until June instead of April 14, 2018. You need to complete this even if you have completed this in the past.

Looking forward to what the rest of ASCA 2018 has in store.