Healthcare providers spoke with Becker's on a number of topics this week, including the largest disrupters in the industry, private equity and lessons from the year.

Seven key federal healthcare updates in the last two weeks:

From ASC openings to new service lines, here are seven recent ASC moves in California:

Lubbock, Texas-based Covenant High Plains Surgery Center now offers robot-assisted total knee replacement surgery, the center said Dec. 2. 

One Medical Passport and Mnet Health announced the winner of the 2021 Ambulatory Surgery Everyday Heroes award, according to a Dec. 2 news release.

St. Luke's Surgical Center in Tarpon Springs, Fla., is being sued by a patient who lost her eye to a fungal infection after one of its surgeons, Brandon Rodriguez, MD, performed a cornea transplant, Tampa Free Press reported Dec. 1.

California officials confirmed that a recent case of COVID-19 was caused by the omicron coronavirus variant — the first known case detected in the U.S. The individual returned from South Africa Nov. 22.

Private equity companies have made several moves to strengthen their presence in the ASC industry.

In the past month, an ASC physician-owner and a former ASC CEO both announced that they will be running for political office in 2022. 

ASC administrators worried about a staffing shortage when the COVID-19 vaccination mandate hit Dec. 6 can breathe a sigh of relief, for now. A federal judge issued an injunction to temporarily stop the CMS mandate for healthcare workers to be fully vaccinated by Jan. 4.

A new list by Medscape is showing where physicians should head for winter vacations.

The Leapfrog Group, a quality and patient safety watchdog, assessed ASCs for quality standards across performance indicators including staffing, patient experience, hand hygiene, surgical checklist protocols and error prevention.

Minnetonka, Minn.-based UnitedHealth Group, parent company of physician group Optum Health, has exceeded 60,000 employed or aligned physicians, according to notes from a Nov. 30 investor presentation.

The Iowa Board of Medicine granted a license to Parth Bharill, MD, a physician currently on probation for his role in a scheme to distribute opioids to drug users, Iowa Capital Dispatch reported Nov. 29. 

The state of New York has secured a $5.1 million judgment against Park Avenue Stem Cell and plastic surgeon Joel Singer, MD, for falsely and illegally advertising unlicensed stem cell procedures.

Indianapolis-based IU Health Methodist Hospital and Methodist Health Group are suing an orthopedic practice for trademark infringement and unfair competition after the group relocated to a competing hospital campus.

The UnaSource Surgery Center has begun offering total knee replacements using the Velys Robotic-Assisted Solution, the Troy, Mich.-based ASC said Nov. 28.

Here are four lawsuits involving pain physicians Becker's has reported on since Oct. 1:

From COVID-19 to CMS removing 255 procedures from the ASC-payable list, ASCs are facing many obstacles in maintaining profitability.

CMS finalized a clarification that hospitals can share space, services or personnel with another healthcare provider, including ASCs, so long as they are independently compliant with CMS regulations, National Law Review reported Nov. 24.