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ASCs must brace for possible 1% reduction and no increase until 2010

Beginning April 1, 2004, ambulatory surgery center (ASC) payment rates will be frozen until 2010. And the news may be worse: The payments may be frozen at a rate that is 1% below current rates.

Moratorium imposed on surgical hospitals

The recently passed Medicare bill would impose an 18-month moratorium on development of new specialty hospitals, including surgical hospitals, and limit expansion of existing ones retroactively beginning Nov. 18, 2003.

MASH unit learns you can perform surgery anywhere

Could you perform surgery if patients had their hands tied together and were being watched by armed soldiers? Can you imagine treating patients in rooms that are coated regularly with dirt and sand?

Wounds heal faster with autologous platelet gel

Looking for a program that attracts new patients, requires a minimum of staff education, and nets an average profit of between $1,200 and $1,300 per procedure?

Here’s a peek into the surgeon mentality

Who do we love? Our surgeons, of course! Who do we hate? Our surgeons, of course. What is it about this group of practitioners that can drive us all to extremes, often within one day?

Nurses play strong role in patient satisfaction

In outpatient surgery, a patients pain is treated immediately after surgery, and patients are sent home.

Board certification urged for office-based surgeons

Physicians who offer moderate, deep, or general sedation in their offices should be board-certified in the type of surgery they perform in the office setting, under new guidelines for office-based surgery approved by the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the American Medical Association (AMA), both in Chicago.

AAAHC standards clarify medical and physical discharge

Physicians must be present or immediately available until patients are medically discharged, but they dont need to be present until the patient leaves the same-day surgery program area, according to revised standards approved by the Wilmette, IL-based Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) for 2004. The standards become effective upon publication late this month.

Here are revised AAAHC standards

Patient safety, clarification of credentialing and reappointment requirements, and requirements for laser privileges are a few of the major categories addressed in the revised 2004 accreditation standards from the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care.

PPR options developed by Joint Commission

Even before the new accreditation survey process goes into effect, the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Health Organizations has created options to the self-assessment component of the survey.

Infection control, safety key issues for endoscopy

Low-stress, thorough, and focused on patient safety are a few of the adjectives same-day surgery managers use to describe their recent experience with the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organization surveyors looking at their endoscopy labs.

HIPAA Q & A

This column addresses specific questions related to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) implementation.

Same-Day Surgery – January 1, 2004

January 1, 2004