ASC News

ASC administrators hope to move past COVID-19 next year, but the pandemic is far from over. The U.S. hit a new seven-day average record of 267,000 cases Dec. 28, according to The New York Times.

Prince Frederick, Md.-based CalvertHealth is restricting visitors at its facilities amid COVID-19 spikes, including at its ASC, beginning Dec. 28.

California will require that healthcare workers, including at ASCs, receive a COVID-19 booster, the California Department of Public Health said Dec. 22.

Beginning Jan. 1, many ASCs will have to comply with aspects of the No Surprises Act, a controversial measure aimed to end surprise medical bills for emergency and scheduled care. 

The omicron coronavirus variant is now the dominant strain in the U.S., accounting for 73.2 percent of new infections for the week ending Dec. 18. 

Several ASCs added to their service lines this year to expand patient care.

Cheyenne, Wyo.-based High Plains Surgery Center is the first ASC in the state to offer outpatient surgeries using the da Vinci X system, the ASC said Dec. 21.

A physician is trying to stop Duke University Health System from requiring clinical research faculty physicians to become its employees.

The healthcare workforce is on the brink of experiencing high staff turnover rates, with 1 in 5 physicians intending to leave their current practice within two years, a new American Medical Association-led study found.

West Morris Surgery Center in Ledgewood, N.J., performed its first bunion surgery using Treace Medical Concept's Lapiplasty procedure, the ASC said Dec. 20.