CMS released the ASC Quality Reporting data for the 2018 payment year Dec. 21.
The data spans measures reported on from Jan. 1, 2016, to Dec. 31, 2016, except where noted. The report found:
1. Almost all — 96.9 percent — of Medicare-certified ASCs met the requirements and will receive full payment for the 2018 calendar year.
2. More than 99 percent of ASCs reported using a safe surgical checklist, and due to this compliance level CMS determined that the measure is topped out. Beginning in 2018, the facilities will no longer need to report it.
3. The following measures all did better in 2016 than the previous year:
• Patient burn
• Patient fall
• Wrong site, side, patient procedure, implant
• Hospital transfer/admission
• Prophylactic intravenous antibiotic timing
• Safe surgery checklist use
"The cost-savings ASCs offer is well-documented," said ASCA CEO William Prentice. "When you couple that information with the quality data being compiled in this program and in other programs across the country, the message is clear: ASCs are a wise choice for patients in need of outpatient surgery and those who provide and manage that care."