1. Compensation Up for 8 Core Specialties That Regularly Practice in ASCs. Physician compensation climbed 3.5 percent overall, and orthopedic surgery was the biggest winner among specialties that regularly practice in ASCs with a 6.6 percent compensation increase. For the complete story, go here.

2. Fospropofol Would Merit Same Safety Precautions as Propofol. If approved by the FDA, fospropofol disodium injection should only be administered by persons trained in the administration of general anesthesia and not involved in the conduct of the surgical/diagnostic procedure, says Stanford Plavin, MD, an anesthesiologist, managing partner of Ambulatory Anesthesia of Atlanta and board member of Georgia Society of ASCs. Click here for more.

3. Teaching Founders to Roll Over: Deal Structures That Bridge the Valuation Gap. The tax tail should never wag the deal dog. But in private equity, tax structures can significantly affect deal price and portfolio company returns. This is especially true in "rollover" transactions. For the complete story, click here.

4. Massachusetts Physicians Group Files Lawsuit Over Ranking Program. The Massachusetts Medical Society (MMS) has filed a lawsuit against the Massachusetts Group Insurance Commission (GIC) to "correct the wrongs" of its physician ranking program, according to a statement from the MMS. Go here for the complete story.

5. New Hampshire Encourages Hand Hygiene Compliance. A new campaign initiated by the New Hampshire Commission on Healthcare Quality Assurance aims to achieve 100 percent compliance with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's guidelines for hand hygiene. Read more here.

1. Mike Lipomi, MSHA. With more than 30 years' experience in hospital and ambulatory facility management, Mike Lipomi is now the president of RMC Medstone Capital.

2. Marc E. Koch, MD, MBA. Marc E. Koch is the president and CEO of Somnia, where he focuses on ensuring that all efforts further the company's mission of offering high-quality and cost-efficient anesthesia solutions to hospitals, ASCs and office-based facilities nationwide. A Yale-trained anesthesiologist, Dr. Koch co-founded the medical practice Resource Anesthesiology Associates in 1996.

3. Jeremy Hogue, JD, MBA. Jeremy Hogue is the president and CEO of Sovereign Healthcare, a privately held company based in Orange County, Calif., that partners with physicians for the ownership and management of outpatient surgery centers. Mr. Hogue also works as an investor and consultant to numerous other healthcare-related ventures.

For the complete list and complete biographical sketches of these and other people, please read the July/Aug. issue of Becker's ASC Review. To nominate someone, please e-mail Scott Becker or e-mail Stephanie Wasek.

The 6th Annual Orthopedics, Pain Management and Spine Driven ASC Conference: Improving Profits, Legal and Business Issues, will be held June 19 to 21 in Chicago. There are 20 attendee registrations available.

Download the complete program brochure and agenda here.

There are four easy ways to register:

• Online. Register through our secure Web site.


• Fax. Complete the order form and fax it to (312) 706-2526. Please show ASC Communications c/o a5 as the subject line.


• Mail. Complete the order form and mail it to ASC Communications; c/o a5 Inc.; 1 N. LaSalle Street, 47th Floor; Chicago IL 60602.


• Phone. Call (312) 546-6042 to register.

1. Hospital Group Spent $630K Lobbying. In the first quarter alone, the lobbying group for for-profit hospital chains spent $630,000 on its efforts, reports Forbes. The Federation of American Hospitals lobbied Congress, the White House and the Department of Health and Human Services on a range of issues. For more, click here.

2. Judge's Decision on Hospital Suit Blocks Medicaid Cuts. Hospitals will get a temporary reprieve from a change in Medicaid regulations that would cut hospital payments by an estimated $5 billion over the next five years, according to published reports. For more, go here.

3. Surgical Hospital Seeks MDs. Surgical specialty hospital seeks board certified physician candidates in the following specialties: gynecology, podiatry, orthopedics or neuro/spine, and pain management. Fully licensed acute-care hospital with adjacent medical office building is located in idyllic southwest-Colo. mountain town. Skiing, kayaking, mountain biking, great public schools and four-year liberal arts college. For inquiries, please contact Brett Gosney, CEO, Animas Surgical Hospital, at (970) 385-2360.

Q. What are the most effective means you use to reduce costs?

Answers:

"Conduct planned reviews of all contract services to include laundry and linen, as well as preventive maintenance contracts. It's important to always review these items and seek competitive pricing to ensure your vendors are working with your center as a member of the team."

Sarah Martin, RN, Meridian Surgical Partners Brentwood, Tenn.

"As the manager of three 'mature' ASCs performing outpatient endoscopy exclusively, I find internal and external benchmarking to be the most effective tool for identifying opportunities to match cost with volumes. Secondly, you have to go back to vendors and renegotiate for both services and supplies on a regular basis especially if you are bringing them significant volume."

Craig J. Bakken, CMPE, CEO; Rocky Mountain Gastroenterology Associates, Rocky Mountain Endoscopy Centers, Lakewood, Colo.

"Empower employees to own savings efforts. Since your employees are in the trenches every day and can impact costs on a day-to-day basis, empower them to save your business money. Then, reward them greatly for success. The outlay of cash you have to spend to empower your employees will pale in comparison to the cost savings you receive."

Brian Brown, Meridian Surgical Partners, Brentwood, Tenn.

Thank you to all respondents. A new question will be included in the next E-Weekly. Got a question you'd like your peers to answer? E-mail Rob Kurtz.

1. AAAHC Announces New President and Officers. The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) has announced a new president and other officers for 2008-2009, elected at the April AAAHC board of directors meeting in Chicago. Click here for full bios for each of the officers.

2. New Commercial Finance Company to Acquire Marcap Financial. Tygris Commercial Finance Group, a commercial finance company, has announced its formation and funding with over $1.75 billion in equity commitments. Marcap, led by Peter Myhre, Brad Stern and Jeff Fox, is one of the best companies in the ASC business. For more, click here

1. Atlantis Worldwide. Atlantis Worldwide is a leading full-service provider of pre-owned diagnostic imaging systems: MRI, CT Scanners and C-Arms, as well as other imaging systems. Atlantis Worldwide will have a booth at the October conference. Click here to read more about the company.

2. AAAHC. The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care, also known as AAAHC, currently accrediting more than 3,600 organizations, making it a leader in ambulatory healthcare accreditation. AAAHC will begin a run of ads in the Becker's ASC E-Weekly. Click here to learn more about AAAHC.

3. Heffernan Insurance Brokers. Heffernan Insurance partners with clients to design and implement programs that maximize coverage and minimize cost. You can meet Heffernan professionals at the October conference or learn more by clicking here.

4. Pinnacle III. Pinnacle III specializes in the operational development, management, select management, and billing for ASCs. The company has booked a booth at the October conference. Read more about Pinnacle III here.

5. Credentialing Corporation of America. Credentialing Corporation of America is a credentials verification organization that provides ongoing credentialing services or complete one-time projects for hospitals and ASCs, ensuring compliance with AAAHC, The Joint Commission, NCQA and URAC credentialing standards. You will see the company's ads in upcoming Becker's ASC E-Weeklies. Learn more about CCA here.

If you are a Becker's ASC Review paid 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.