We are all aware of the high level of uncertainty that has marked the start of 2020.

Infection outbreak investigations are conducted differently in ASCs than they are in inpatient settings, where infection preventionists continuously monitor culture and other lab results, according to Terri Link, BSN.

Three recent ASC quality updates:

The Surgery Center of Fairfield County in Trumbull, Conn., completed a quality study examining how the center disposed of scalpels, needles, glass and hazardous waste.

By using a patient texting system, the KU Medwest surgery center in Shawnee, Kan., was able to boost outcomes, save money and improve satisfaction, according to industry publication Mobile Health Times.

Surgical smoke, or the emissions caused by cauterization instruments and lasers used in operations, can present a risk to nurses and physicians working in operating rooms, according to The Joint Commission.

Cardinal Health is taking corrective actions related to the recall of 9.1 million surgical gowns, which could generate a company loss of $96 million in the second quarter, according to a Jan. 30 announcement.

Here are some of the most popular quality stories from 2019:

  Three experts shared their tips on quality improvement for ASCs with Becker's ASC Review:

Osso VR helps surgeons train for procedures in ways that simulation centers never could, The Washington Post reports.

Coolant leaked inside the University of Virginia Battle Building in Charlottesville overnight Jan. 10, resulting in an ASC's closure as crews cleaned up the spill, according to local NBC affiliate NBC29.

Vermont is the healthiest state in the U.S., while Mississippi is the least healthy, according to America's Health Rankings, a list released by the UnitedHealth Foundation.

With more than 60 percent of surgeries taking place in ASCs and outpatient units, The Leapfrog Group decided earlier this year to begin collecting quality and safety data on the increasingly popular facilities. Initially, the effort was met with enthusiasm.

The all-cause hospital transfer/admission rate for ASCs dropped between the second and third quarter of this year, the ASC Quality Collaboration's latest ASC quality report reveals.

Healthcare safety ratings company the Leapfrog Group is accepting comments on changes it plans to make to its 2020 ASC quality survey.

Vermont is the healthiest state in the U.S., according to America's Health Rankings, a list released by the UnitedHealth Foundation.

Becker's ASC Review reported on four ASCs or ASC operators affected by data breaches this year.

ASCs stand to save costs for Medicare and its beneficiaries over the next 10 years, according to an analysis conducted by Brent Fulton, PhD, and Sue Kim, PhD, of the University of California-Berkeley Nicholas C. Petris Center on Health Care Markets and Consumer Welfare.

More than one healthcare data breach was reported every day in October, according to the HIPAA Journal.

A physician-owned hospital in Ohio has received a 2019 Press Ganey Guardian of Excellence Award, according to the Springfield News-Sun.