October 2013 Issue of Becker's ASC Review

Becker's ASC Review October 2013

100 ASC Benchmarks & Statistics to Know

Here are 100 benchmarks and statistics for ambulatory surgery centers based on reports from Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care, Ambulatory Surgical Centers of America, Ambulatory Surgery Center Association, HealthCare Appraisers, Provista, RemitData, Objective Health, MedPAC and VMG Health. Click to continue »

6 Biggest Threats to ASCs Right Now

Ambulatory surgery centers are not immune to the tumultuous healthcare industry, and every day ASC owners will come up against major threats to maintaining a successful practice. Click to continue »

6 Golden Rules of Surgery Center Staff Engagement From Lori Martin

Surgery center administrators bear a great deal of responsibility for their center’s performance and daily operations. Click to continue »

Publisher’s Letter

7 ASC Administrators on Remaining Competitive Post-Healthcare Reform

Janice Stewart, RN BSN, Nurse Administrator of Surgcenter of Bel Air: Surgery centers need to continue to keep costs down, but at the same time provide excellent service. Click to continue »

7 Steps to Plan for Sustainable, Long-Term ASC Success

The current healthcare landscape for ambulatory surgery centers may seem unstable, but ASC leadership teams can develop long-term strategies to ensure sustainable success. Click to continue »

8 Tactics to Strengthen Surgery Center Physician Credentialing

Janice Stewart, RN BSN, Nurse Administrator of Surgcenter of Bel Air: Surgery centers need to continue to keep costs down, but at the same time provide excellent service. Click to continue »

Can ASCs Survive Healthcare Reform? Q&A With Kim White

Kim White, MDA, a consultant with Numberof & Associates discusses how ambulatory surgery centers can maintain a thriving business under the changes coming from healthcare reform. Click to continue »

Developing a Positive Community Presence for Surgery Centers:

Melissa Dansby is the administrator of the Meridian Surgical Partners’ facility Cleburne Surgical Center in Texas. Click to continue »

5 Best Practices for Managing Leadership Transitions in ASCs

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, “The only constant is change.” That principle holds true to this day and is ever more apparent in the current wave of retiring baby boomers and the changing climate of healthcare. Click to continue »

5 Steps for Smooth Surgeon Relations at a Cost Conscious Surgery Center

Tracey Harbour, RN, BSN, administrator of Surgery Center of Pinehurst (N.C.), discusses five ways ambulatory surgery center leaders can create an atmosphere that attracts quality surgeons and provides an environment where they happily continue bringing cases, all while keeping in mind a budget. Click to continue »

ASCs Projected to Save Medicare $57.6B Over Next 10 Years

An analysis from researchers at the University of California-Berkeley Nicholas C. Petris Center on Health Care Markets and Consumer Welfare reported that ambulatory surgery centers saved Medicare $7.5 billion from 2008 to 2011, according to a news release from the Ambulatory Surgery Center Association. Click to continue »

GI Diagnostics & Treatment: 3 Revolutionary Trends

The most revolutionary trends in gastrointestinal disease imaging, diagnostics and treatment cover the Institute for Healthcare Improvement’s triple aim: improving patient experience of care, improving the health of patient populations and reducing the cost of healthcare. Click to continue »

7 Ways to Use Key Quality Metrics to Improve GI Centers

Blair Lewis, MD, a gastroenterologist at Carnegie Hill Endoscopy Center in New York City, discusses how gastroenterologists and GI-driven centers can use quality metrics to improve their practice. Click to continue »

18 Statistics About GI/Endoscopy in Surgery Centers

Here are 18 statistics about GI/endoscopy in ambulatory surgery centers, based on data from VMG Health’s Multi-Specialty ASC Intellimarker 2011. Click to continue »

6 Questions Surgery Center Leaders Need to Ask When Adding a New Specialty

Brooke Day, administrator of Hastings (Neb.) Surgical Center and Keith Smith, MD, administrator of Surgery Center of Oklahoma discuss six issues surgery center leaders need to take into consideration when making the decision to add a specialty. Click to continue »

5 Surgery Center Joint Venture Models

We are increasingly asked about different models for surgery center joint ventures. Here are brief descriptions of five different functional models. This article provides a simple assessment of the different surgery center joint venture models. This is of course not comprehensive. Click to continue »

5 Tactics for Attracting Physicians in an Age of Hospital Integration

Physician recruitment is a large factor in ambulatory surgery center growth. New physicians bring new cases and open up the possibility of adding new procedures, specialties or investment. Click to continue »

7 Statistics on ASC Offering Price

Here are seven statistics on how ambulatory surgery center management and development companies determine and adjust the offering price of an ASC, according to VMG Health’s ValueDriver 2011 ASC Survey. Click to continue »

AMA Report: 60% of Physicians in Physician-Owned Groups

According to an American Medical Association survey, the percentage of physicians who were practice owners decreased only 8 percentage points from 2007/2008 to 2012. Click to continue »

6 Gastroenterologists on Evolving to Meet Challenges in Today’s Healthcare Environment

Here are six gastroenterologists discussing how they are evolving to meet the numerous challenges presented by today’s healthcare environment. Click to continue »

Patient Out-of-Pocket Costs — Getting Paid In a Timely Manner

With increasing deductibles and co-pays, it’s even more critical for ambulatory surgery centers to inform patients of their financial responsibility as early as possible to allow them to secure funds needed to cover the facility fee. Click to continue »