ASC News

A podiatrist and a patient recruiter were sentenced to prison and ordered to pay more than $7 million in restitution for their roles in a scheme to fraudulently bill TriCare for medically unnecessary compounded creams.

Here are four recent updates related to certificate-of-need issues in Alabama, North Carolina and Virginia, as reported by Becker's:

UnitedHealthcare's CEO, Brian Thompson, was fatally shot on the morning of Dec. 4 while exiting a hotel in New York City, according to the New York Police Department.

The strong majority of practicing physicians — 79% — have never undergone a peer review, according to Medscape's 2024 "Seeking Fairness and Real Guidance: Medscape Physicians and Peer Reviews Report 2024," published Dec. 4. 

Plaza College in New York City has opened a new $1 million certified surgical technologist medical simulation operation room, QNS reported Dec. 3.  

A Denver-based neuromonitoring company, its founder, a neurosurgeon, and a businessman have agreed to settlements totaling more than $2 million to resolve federal kickback allegations. 

A Florida physician assistant pleaded guilty to his role in a conspiracy to defraud Medicare of $7.3 million.

Atlanta-based American Health Imaging and its former founder and CEO, Scott Arant, have agreed to pay the U.S. and the state of Georgia $5,250,000 to resolve kickback and false claims allegations.

A team of surgeons at UC San Diego Health have become the first in the U.S. to use Distalmotion's Dexter surgical robot in the outpatient setting.

Significant change is underway in the orthopedic surgical space. Driven by advancements in technologies and techniques and a growing emphasis on cost efficiency and patient experience, procedures are increasingly being performed in ambulatory surgical centers (ASCs) across the United States.