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In the Calendar Year 2015 Medicare final payment rule, hospital outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) payments are estimated to increase by 2.2%, and the adjusted update factor for ambulatory surgery centers is 1.4%.
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An ophthalmology practice in Alabama, located next to a surgery center, had a patient who showed up sick with Ebola-type symptoms. The patient shared that her son, who lived with her, had returned from Nigeria in the past few days.
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More than two-thirds of children from low-income Latino families dont receive adequate pain control when they go home after surgery, according to a study presented at the Anesthesiology 2014 annual meeting.
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The Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) has launched the Fundamental Use of Surgical Energy (FUSE) program to educate surgeons and staff about the safe use of surgical energy-based devices in the OR, endoscopy suite, and other areas.
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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized proposed quality measure OP-32 and ASC-12 Facility Seven-Day Risk-Standardized Hospital Visit Rate after Outpatient Colonoscopy, despite objections from the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association (ASCA) and others.
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You know how sometime you just have a great day? It seems like they dont come that often anymore, and the great is not as great, but still, it happens.
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Five years after the H1N1 flu pandemic, hospitals and public health authorities are dealing with a difficult aftermath: Stockpiles of N95 respirators are expiring. Rebuilding pandemic stockpiles could cost many millions of dollars and still might not provide enough protective devices.
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Most occupational health nurses learn about respiratory protection on the job. They may manage the program, but still have little time to train their hospitals employees about the difference between a mask and a respirator.
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Payers are requiring authorizations for many additional procedures, which results in increased claims denials and dissatisfied patients.
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Clear and open lines of communication between the clinical team and patient access is the single best way to prevent claims denials due to no authorization, according to Aaron Robison, CHAA, a patient financial advocate at University of Utah Health Care in Salt Lake City. However, this step remains a significant challenge for the department.