7 things for ASC leaders to know for Thursday

Here are seven news updates for ambulatory surgery center leaders to know for Sept. 25, 2014.

Outpatient intraoperative mortality: 1 in 478,000 procedures.
The American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities released statistics on patient safety in outpatient facilities from analysis of 15 years of AAAASF data on outcomes and procedures for more than 12 million cases. Outpatient surgery has an intraoperative mortality rate of 1 in 478,000 procedures.

AmSurg conducts femtosecond laser pilot study.
Management and development company AmSurg's push to equip its partner centers with femtosecond lasers for cataract surgeries has revealed several important things about the long-term use of the tool. Since 2012, AmSurg has been installing lasers in its centers. As of July 2014, there are 17 femtosecond lasers in its centers, and partners have performed more than 5,000 laser-assisted cataract surgeries.

Task force officially links adequate bowel prep with quality colonoscopy.
The U.S. Multi-Society Task Force on Colorectal Cancer released new consensus guidelines that link good bowel preparation to high-quality colonoscopy. An estimated 20 percent to 25 percent of all colonoscopies are reported to have inadequate bowel preparation, which can lead to missed precancerous lesions and increased costs due to repeat procedures.

77 additional insurers to offer marketplace plans.
Consumers will have a greater selection of health plans to choose from when shopping for health insurance on the marketplaces, as 77 more insurers will offer marketplace coverage in 2015. Read the full report on Becker's Hospital Review.

DEA launches drug-return program.
The Drug Enforcement Administration, concerned over increasing rates of prescription drug abuse, announced a consumer program for returning unused prescription drugs to pharmacies. The program, which will begin in October, is designed to cover common opioids, stimulants and depressants, which are often abused, resold or otherwise misused.

Morcellator still in use, despite FDA warning.
While the FDA issued an April warning about the risk of spreading undetected cancer through morcellation, some physicians and practices continue to use the device. Physicians who continue to use the technology do so because they believe the risk of spreading unknown cancer may be lower than the government's announcement suggests. On the other hand, Johnson & Johnson pulled its laparoscopic power morcellator from the market, several major hospitals discontinued morcellation and some payers no longer cover the procedure.

72% of nonprofit hospitals see increase in outpatient utilization.
In the first and second quarters of 2014, inpatient utilization was either unchanged or down for 68 percent of nonprofit hospitals. But, 72 percent of hospitals responding to a Kaufmann Hall survey reported an increase in outpatient utilization. Read the full report on Becker's Hospital Review.

More articles on ASC issues:
10 things to know about ophthalmology
8 critical healthcare law issues for ASCs
5 core QI components

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