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Managers familiar with a chemical spill last year at Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia, WA, and incidents at other outpatient surgery programs say you can learn from others experiences and be better prepared for a chemical spill at your facility.
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We have had numerous requests for a column about interacting with the governing body (for ambulatory surgery centers) and board of directors (for the hospital folks). Regardless of what side of the street you live on, the issues are the same. In this column, we will refer to them both as the board. (How ominous!)
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Medicare would save $1.5 billion in 2005 if cases submitted on hospital outpatient department (HOPD) claims were instead submitted on ambulatory surgery center (ASC) claims, according to a new study conducted for the Federated Ambulatory Surgery Association (FASA) by The Moran Company in Arlington, VA.
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The Pennsylvania Department of Health has decided to allow ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) to resume some laparoscopic surgery as long as they seek state approval.
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How would you like to go from receiving no payment increases from one of your payers to receiving rate increases of 3% to 11% four years in a row? Sound impossible? Not for ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) in Ohio, which became proactive in educating their workers compensation board after receiving no payment increases for three years in a row.
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Surgery centers performing 5,000 or more cases per year showed operating costs of $582.65 per case in 2004, compared with operating costs of $985.03 per case for centers that performed 1,999 or fewer cases per year, according to a new report from the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) in Englewood, CO.
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The fifth in a series of Cataract Extraction with Lens Insertion best practices studies recently released by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care Institute for Quality Improvement (AAAHC Institute) shows that more intensive staffing and patient education can reduce the amount of time patients spend in the facility.
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Although AORN does not recommended home laundering, AORN is aware that some facilities require personnel to home launder surgical attire. If health care workers are required to home launder attire, steps should be taken to protect the home environment from possible contamination. Laundering practices similar to the commercial guidelines are recommended.
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Even though surgical-fire prevention is discussed by staff, sometimes, it takes a fire to make you realize how little you and your staff understand the risks of fire in an operating room.
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Although it is important to focus upon fire prevention in the operating room, dont forget to look at your staffs readiness to fight fire and treat a patient if a fire does occur, recommends Leanne Bales, RN, CNOR, administrator of Effingham (IL) Surgery Center.
