In August, Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare Services paid $65 million to settle allegations it violated the False Claims Act by admitting patients who only required outpatient care and engaging in upcoding.
Consumerism has contributed to making outpatient care the fastest growing healthcare sector, with the number of procedures occurring in ASCs increasing from 50 percent in 1990 to nearly 66 percent in 2014, according to an article published in Surgical Products.
A database review showed ASCs began taking older, sicker patients between 2006 and 2010, General Surgery News reports.
Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare Chairman and CEO R. Milton Johnson plans to retire and HCA named President and COO Sam Hazen his replacement.
Cleveland Clinic Children's will open a $28 million freestanding outpatient center Sept. 24, The Plain Dealer reports.
Salix Pharmaceuticals launched Plenvu, a one-liter prescription bowel preparation solution.
M. Aamir Ali, MD, and Kristin Attiogbe, CRNP, joined Rockville, Md.-based Capital Digestive Care.
Here are 10 updates on ASC companies and industry-relevant companies to note:
ASCs should "test the market" to save supply chain costs, said Director Rob Austin, Senior Consultant Don Baverman and Senior Consultant Marissa Burik of Navigant Consulting, a healthcare consulting firm.
EyePoint Pharmaceuticals selected Göran Ando, MD, as its next chairman of the board.