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New Advisory Opinion on Orthopedic-Driven Physician/Hospital Joint-Venture |
Scott Becker reports that McGuire Woods (Scott Becker, JD, CPA, and Melissa Szabad, JD), with help from Winston & Strawn (Tom Mills and Marion Goldberg) and Much Shelist (Neal Goldstein), were privileged, on behalf of an ASC joint venture, to have received this week a favorable OIG advisory opinion on a physician/hospital ASC joint-venture. The ASC included some non-safe harbor compliant orthopedic physicians. To obtain the favorable opinion, and provide comfort to the OIG, the opinion had to include several prophylactic steps. The OIG will publicly publish the opinion Friday, and we will run a special analysis on the opinion Tuesday.
This most recent and lengthy experience with the OIG indicates its continued high level of concern with indirect referrals as well as its growing expertise in niche areas.
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Latest News & Analysis
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1. Missouri Healthcare System to Pay $60 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations.  2. Susan Kizirian: Cost of Doing Orthopedic Surgery.
3. Less Than Two Weeks Until Case Costing and Advanced Benchmarking for ASCs Audio Conference (Aug. 6). Hear From Ann Geier, Vice President of Operations for ASCOA, and Susan Kizirian, COO of ASCOA. Complimentary Registration Available for ASC Review Subscribers. Limit 50 Registrants.
4. Minnesota's Fairview Health Services May Go Out-of-Network With Blue Cross After Price Standoff.
5. Cincinnati's Deaconess Hospital to Become Joint-Venture With Physicians.
6. Missouri Physicians' Antitrust Case Against Health Insurers Heads to Arbitration.
7. Medicare Encourages Physician Use of E-Prescribing With Bonuses. 8. Receive a Free Copy of the VMG Health Intellimarker, an Outstanding Resource for ASCs. Please E-mail Mia Norman (mian@vmghealth.com) at VMG Health.
9. 15th Annual Improving Profitability and Business, Legal and Strategic Issues for ASCs; Oct. 23 to 25 at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers in Chicago. Highlights Include 75 Great Topics Focused on Big Strategic Ideas and Practice Business and Legal Guidance; Earn Up to 13.5 CME Credits, 13.5 CASC Credits and 13.3 CEU Credits; And 100 Top Speakers. 10. From the Archives: 10 Keys to Turning Around Financially Troubled ASCs.
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Ophthalmology Remains a Viable Specialty for ASCs
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Q: Is it still worthwhile to consider ophthalmology as a specialty for my ASC?
A: Ophthalmology procedures are still profitable. Do not make a blanket decision to not
seek ophthalmology as a specialty. ASCs can still profit from ophthalmology procedures
if the ASC has significant volumes and has effective internal cost control (i.e., it is
run very efficiently).
"We believe that, depending upon the surgeons, we can make substantial profit margins,"
says Brent Lambert, MD, FACS, chairman of the board and a founder of Ambulatory
Surgical Centers of America. "You have to have a surgeon that has a short operating
time for a 'phaco'. What that means is certainly under 15 minutes per case. That's four
an hour, and he can keep his total supplies under $220, which is easily done. Our
overhead expenses, except for supplies, through our centers, average $18 per minute for
every minute the patient is in the OR. Let's says it takes 15 minutes to do the
(surgery). That would be $270 in overhead and then $220 in supplies. You're getting
$960 reimbursement on average. Those are very good numbers.
"And there are many surgeons who can do these (procedures) in six to ten minutes, and
then it can be very substantial profit margins," he says. "But if someone is going to
say they do two (procedures) an hour, then we're probably not going to make hardly any
money, regardless of how good of a surgeon he is, because he's up around $540 on his
minutes. Many of the surgeons who take a long time, in our experience, are also
expensive users of supplies. It's sort of a double whammy and you can get killed by
it."
Note: You can learn 44 other "Things to Know" about ASCs in the Sept./Oct. issue of the ASC Review.
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How Does Your Facility Handle Surgery Cancellations?
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A reader asks: What do you do to decrease high surgical cancellation rates? How do you approach the physician? The patient?
E-mail your thoughts to this question to Rob Kurtz at rob@beckersasc.com. Be sure to include your name, title and business name. Shortly, we will publish a selection of the responses we receive and choose one response as our "featured answer."
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| ASC Communications & Ambulatory Surgery Foundation Fall Conference and Becker's ASC Review
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15th Annual Improving Profits and Business and Legal Issues for ASCs
Presented by ASC Communications and the Ambulatory Surgery Foundation
Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Chicago
Oct. 23 to 25 Five great sample topics:
1. Seven Deadly Sins in Purchasing for an ASC -- Larry Lane, Supply Chain Management
2. The Best Opportunities for ASCs Now -- Larry Taylor, President and CEO, Practice Partners in Healthcare
3. Core Tips and Strategies to Succeed with Orthopedics and Neurosurgery in ASCs --
Mike Lipomi, President, RMC Medstone
4. Do you Play Hockey? -- Why Centers are Using Canadian Markets to Sell Their ASCs -- Donald Kramer, MD, President, Northstar Healthcare; Larry Teuber, MD, President,
Medical Facilities Corp.
5. How a Hospital Partner Can Help an ASC - Should Your Hospital Own Shares and How
Much Should It Own? -- Phil Taylor, MD, Knightsbridge Surgical Center; Robert Carrera,
CEO, Pinnacle III; Ed Hetrick, President, Facility Development and ManagementTo see the entire agenda, download the conference brochure (PDF).
There are four ways to register: 1. Fill out and mail or fax the registration form in the conference brochure.
2. Call (703) 836-5904 or (800) 417-2035
3. Register online by clicking here.
4. E-mail registration@ascassociation.org. |
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Contact us toll-free: (800) 417-2035
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Thank You to 12 Great Companies
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1. Affiliated Credit Services, a collection agency and accounts receivable management company, for becoming a founding sponsor of The Hospital Review. Learn more about Affiliated Credit Services.
2. Healthcare Appraisers, a nationally recognized valuation and consulting firm providing services exclusively to the healthcare industry, for becoming a founding sponsor of The Hospital Review. Learn more about HealthCare Appraisers.
3. Somnia, a comprehensive anesthesia services company that offers a full range of anesthesia service solutions, for becoming a founding sponsor of The Hospital Review. Learn more about Somnia.
4. VMG Health, one of the most trusted valuation and transaction advisors in the United States, for becoming a founding sponsor of The Hospital Review. Learn more about VMG.
5. Blue Chip Surgical Partners, which is only three years old but already has ten physician-led centers in operation or in the construction phase, for becoming a founding sponsor of the Becker's Orthopedic & Spine Review. Learn more about Blue Chip Surgical Partners.
6. National Surgical Care, a nationwide owner and operator of ambulatory surgical centers, for becoming a founding sponsor of the Becker's Orthopedic & Spine Review. Learn more about National Surgical Care.
7. ASCs, Inc., which helps physician-owners of ASCs form strategic relationships with leading ASC management companies and hospitals, for renewing advertising in the ASC Review. Learn more about ASCs, Inc.
8. B. Braun, which delivers innovative healthcare products, medical devices and programs
designed to improve both patient and health-professional safety, for renewing advertising in the ASC Review. Learn more about B. Braun.
9. CTQ Solutions, a leading satisfaction survey and benchmarking firm in outpatient healthcare, for becoming a new advertiser in the ASC Review. Learn more about CTQ Solutions.
10. MediGain, a back office business process outsourcer for healthcare institutions, for becoming a new exhibitor at the October conference. Learn more about MediGain.
11. Anesthesia Health Partners, an anesthesia staffing and practice management company, for renewing advertising on the BeckersASC.com Web site. Learn more about AHP.
12. Provation Medical, the creator of ProVation EHR, the first electronic health record designed for busy, cost-conscious ASCs, for renewing advertising on the BeckersASC.com Web site. Learn more about Provation Medical.
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Upcoming ASC Events
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ASC Transactions: Successful Strategies for Mergers, Acquisitions, Divestitures and Restructuring
July 24, 2008
Audio Conference
ASC Benchmarking and Case-Costing
Aug. 6, 2008
Audio Conference
Physician/Hospital Integration Efforts
Sept. 25, 2008
Audio Conference
15th Improving Profitability, and Business, Strategic, Clinical and Legal Issues for ASCs
Oct. 23 to 25, 2008
Chicago
For a complete list of upcoming events, click here
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Becker's ASC Review Subscriber Benefits
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As a Becker's ASC Review subscriber, you are entitled to the following benefits: 1. Becker's ASC Review delivered to your door; 2. subscriber discounts on the audio conference registrations; 3. $100 off registration for the June conference; 4. $50 off registration for both the October conference; and 5. a free copy of the VMG Health Intellimarker benchmarking survey. To subscribe to the Becker's ASC Review, go to www.BeckersASC.com. |
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Editorial Contacts
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For more information about print and online stories, please contact editorial.
Stephanie Wasek
Co-Editor-in-Chief
(484) 866-1292
e-mail Stephanie
Rob Kurtz
Director of Communications
(410) 874-7681
e-mail Rob
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