Same-Day Surgery – February 1, 2007
February 1, 2007
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GAO report is out — but with ASC system proposed, does it matter?
It was mostly good news in a long-awaited report from the General Accounting Office (GAO) analyzing costs at ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs).1 -
ASC officials praise quality reporting initiative
Leaders of the ambulatory surgery community are praising Congress for passing a provision that requires the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to develop quality reporting requirements for ambulatory surgery centers and hospital outpatient services. -
Updated guidelines focus on monitoring pediatrics
Updated guidelines for all medical and dental practitioners regarding the monitoring and management of pediatric patients during and after sedation have been developed jointly by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. -
Is your staff prepared to monitor a sedated child?
The biggest challenge for outpatient centers is having the anesthesiologists, anesthetists, sedation nurses, circulating nurses, and post-anesthesia care nurses who have the knowledge and experience to care for sedated pediatric patients, says Randall M. Clark, MD, chair of the American Society of Anesthesiologists' (ASA's) Committee on Pediatric Anesthesia. -
Gastroenterologists brace for potential 20% rate cut
According to a newly released report, reimbursement for gastroenterology procedures provided in surgery centers will decrease by as much as 20% in coming years, which will require a significant restructuring of many practices. -
Same-Day Surgery Manager: My top suggestions to avoid fraud, theft in your program
Eventually, we will all be the victim of unscrupulous individuals that wish to plunder our coffers of supplies, cash, or other value at our facilities. The issue is not how to deal with it after it occurs (a nightmare), but rather how to prevent it in the first place. -
Music soothes the soul, reduces anxiety in surgery
He receives requests for certain songs. People bring their own CDs for him to play. And there are days that everyone in the room is tapping their toes. -
Tie competency process to performance appraisals
A good competency assessment program for an outpatient surgery program should encompass skills that relate to each employee's job and specific patient populations served and should apply to all employees, according to experts interviewed by Same-Day Surgery. -
Task force releases report on TASS outbreak
A total of 113 cases of toxic anterior segment syndrome (TASS) were evaluated by the TASS task force set up by the Fairfax, VA-based American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) since the increased incidence of TASS that began in early 2006. -
Silicone implants approved for U.S.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of silicone breast implants. This decision comes 14 years after the FDA restricted access to the silicone implants because of safety concerns. -
SDS Accreditation Update: Don't wait for a patient fall in your facility: Evaluate your program now to address issues
San Leandro (CA) Surgery Center typically experienced one or two patient falls a year, so managers were shocked when three falls occurred in a three-month period in early 2006. -
SDS Accreditation Update: Standards focus on risk assessment
One way to make sure your outpatient surgery program is covering all of its bases to prevent patient falls is to carefully review accreditation standards and National Safety Patient Goals, says Jeanne Linda, RHIT, CPMSM, CPHQ, director of medical staff services and quality review at San Leandro (CA) Surgery Center. -
SDS Accreditation Update: Surveyor in the ceiling, and one patient scheduled
When she read the news stories and alerts from Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations about fake surveyors, Suzanne L. Broome, RN, center director of Blue Ridge Surgery Center in Seneca, SC, instructed her staff to be sure to check the identification of anyone who claimed to be a surveyor. -
SDS Accreditation Update: AAAHC announces new standards
The board of directors of the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care (AAAHC) recently adopted revisions to its standards. Changes include: