Here are seven news updates for ambulatory surgery center leaders to know for Dec. 8, 2014.
Healthcare adds 29k jobs in November
The healthcare industry contributed 29,000 of the overall 321,000 new jobs that were added in the United States last month. Read the full report on Becker's Hospital Review.
New York ambulatory care center project may be delayed.
The New York Board of Standards and Appeals may reconsider its approval of the New-York Methodist Hospital ambulatory care center projected slated for the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn. The proposed seven-story ambulatory care facility would house a surgery center, endoscopy suite, urgent care center and cancer therapy services. The neighborhood group Preserve Park Slope sued the hospital and city board to stop the project from moving forward
gMed to adopt new GI procedure quality measures.
EHR and practice management solutions provider gMed plans to rapidly adopt the new GI procedure quality metrics set by the ASGE/ACG Task Force on Quality in Endoscopy. The new quality metrics apply to all GI endoscopic procedures, EGD, colonoscopy, ERCP and EUS.
Price transparency website launches in Maryland.
The Maryland Health Care Commission has established the Maryland Health Care Quality Reports website, which offers consumer data on hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers and long-term care. The new tool allows consumers to evaluate the cost of the 25 most common medical procedures, as well as providers' quality and safety results.
Joint Commission revised pain management standard to go into effect.
The Joint Commission's Revision to the Provision of Care, Treatment and Services standard PC.01.02.07 will go into effect Jan. 1, 2015. The standard, which addresses pain management, applies to ambulatory care, critical access hospitals, home care, hospitals, nursing care centers and office-based surgery accreditation programs.
California surgery centers sue Stericycle.
Surgery center company Bay Area Surgical Management has sued Stericycle for misrepresentation of charges. The management company alleges Stericycle increased monthly charges above a contract agreement by claiming they represented increases in the cost of doing business, while the cost of doing business remained the same, and Stericycle was simply collecting additional revenue. The company alleges the practice led to an increase of $500 million in Stericycle revenue in three years.
Experts expect severe flu season.
The strain of the flu that has been most common in the U.S. this season, seasonal influenza A H3N2, is tied to more severe illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths than other flu strains, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read the full report on Becker's Hospital Review.