By now, you have probably heard about USP 797 or simply 797. If you are at all involved in anesthesia, you are also probably generally aware of what 797 is all about. But it’s a big issue with many facets,…
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The March death of Stephanie Kuleba, the 18-year-old Florida resident who succumbed to malignant hyperthermia (MH) following breast surgery, should serve as a reminder for ASCs. While this genetic condition is extremely rare, your facility cannot afford to overlook the…
The Neurologic & Orthopedic Hospital of Chicago (NOHC) was ranked the top hospital in Illinois and among the top 5 percent in the country for spine surgery in 2008, according to the latest HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America study, released…
Oxford Partial Knee (Biomet), Qui-Connect Arthro Sheaths (Richard Wolf Medical Instruments), Ultra Fast-Fix Meniscal (Repair System), 560 Series High-Definition Camera System (Smith & Nephew), Vertier Surgical Table (Stryker Orthopedics), Visum LED Surgical Light (Stryker Orthopedics), Conserve Total Hip Implant (Wright…
The cost of implants — and getting reimbursed for them — continues to be imposing for orthopedic and multi-specialty ASCs (see “Reimbursement, Profit and Patient Selection Issues — Spine and Orthopedic Cases” on pg. 1 for more). Here, in an…
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Stephanie Wasek: We all hear about the impact of overweight and obese patients on the population and healthcare system; obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is just one of the conditions associated with these patients. How prevalent is this problem in ASCs?…
In this period of economic challenges, there may be many reasons a physician might want to cash out some of his investment in an ASC. Further, given the credit crunch, younger physicians who want to take the opportunity to buy…
1. Movement to outpatient settings. There is a global trend across specialties, including orthopedics, neurology and cardiology, that increasingly complex procedures are moving toward outpatient settings.
While the expanded list of Medicare-approved procedures may have resulted (or will result) in your ASC’s performing new procedures this year, this does not mean you can or should be any less careful with how you code your older procedures.…
1. Can an ASC offer hospital-employed physicians incentives to use an ASC? It is generally improper to provide financial incentives to a physician in exchange for referring cases to a surgery center. For example, one could not offer hospital-employed physicians…