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For the first time in several years, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations has revised the look-alike/sound-alike drug list.
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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has posted Medicare payment information for physicians and hospital outpatient departments on the web.
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Thirty years ago, Same-Day Surgery was launched. Such a long time ago. I was only . . . well, younger then. But lots of other things were happening in January 1977.
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The federal government can meet its budget neutrality requirements for the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) payment system and still pay ASCs 73% of the rate paid to hospital outpatient departments (HOPD), according to the Federated Ambulatory Surgery Association (FASA).
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As outpatient surgical care has shifted from hospitals to alternative locations, the patient safety and quality regulations and the cost and quality reporting requirements have not moved into that setting, says Ellen Pryga, director of policy for the American Hospital Association in Washington, DC.
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Even after 30 years, the outpatient surgery field still is constantly adjusting to changes in procedures, policies, and payments. Consider these recent actions:
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An increased incidence of toxic anterior segment syndrome (TASS) following outpatient cataract surgery has been reported recently, according to an alert issued by the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery and the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
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Reaction to the results of the "staff costs" category of the Ambulatory Surgery Non-Clinical Study for Cataract Extraction with Lens Insertion was mixed, with the organization that reported the lowest cost expressing surprise and the organization posting the highest cost not planning any changes. The study was conducted by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care's Institute for Quality Improvement.
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Results of the recent Ambulatory Surgery Non-Clinical Study for Cataract Extraction with Lens Insertion and Colonoscopy include the following statistics:
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Billing data, supply costs, staff costs, and patient satisfaction are top issues for all outpatient surgery managers, but benchmark studies that address these areas don't always focus on similar procedures so that comparisons can be made easily.