7 things for ASC leaders to know for Thursday

Here are seven news updates for ambulatory surgery center leaders to know for Oct. 23, 2014.     

Sunshine Act database gets an overhaul.
After two weeks of difficulty navigating the Open Payments website, CMS has issued a beta search tool for the database. CMS is currently soliciting feedback on the search tool and will make alterations to the website in a "refresh" that will occur on or before Dec. 31.

CMS may drop Yorkville Endoscopy's accreditation.
Federal investigation of Yorkville Endoscopy in New York found four deficiencies that mean the surgery center is in danger of losing its CMS accreditation. Unless Yorkville Endoscopy can prove the problems have been resolved, the center will lose its CMS accreditation on Jan. 7, 2015. The center has reportedly "vowed" to fix the issues.

PENTAX Medical launches new endoscopes.
PENTAX Medical launches its i10 Series HD+ Endoscopes in the United States and Canada. The scopes are designed to provide high resolution images for colonoscopy and gastroscopy procedures.

ICD-9 has no code for Ebola.
Under the ICD-9 coding system, Ebola is simply identified as 078.89: other specified diseases due to viruses. Under ICD-10, Ebola would have its own specific code: A98.4. A specific code could improve Ebola tracking in the company.

FIT screening programs could trump colonoscopy screening.
New research has found that with a budget of just $1 million, an annual fecal immunochemical test screening program could potentially screen eight times as many people and prevent twice as many CRC cases as a colonoscopy screening program.

Hospital ownership increases physician spending by 20%.
Hospital-owned physician practices spent up to 20 percent more per patient annually than physician-owned groups in California. The study was conducted by James Robinson, PhD, a professor of health economics at the University of California Berkely's School of Public Health, and Kelly Miller, a program analyst at the Integrated Healthcare Association in Oakland, Calif. Read the full report on Becker's Hospital Review.

Stark Law, Anti-Kickback waivers extended for ACOs.
HHS' Office of the Inspector General and CMS have announced waivers to the Anti-Kickback Statute and Stark Law for Medicare Shared Savings Program accountable care organizations will be extended through Nov. 2, 2015. Read the full report on Becker's Hospital Review.

More articles on ASC issues:
Key legal issues for ASCs: The PPACA becomes a game changer
10 statistics on active ASC physician owners
7 things for ASC leaders to know for Monday

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