Tallahassee, Fla.-based Red Hills Surgical Center received a Q1 2020 Best Practice Award from Inventory Optimization Solutions.

Thirty-two out of 40  drugs considered critical for treating COVID-19 patients are in short supply, according to a list made by the University of Minnesota's Resilient Drug Supply Project, CBS News reported. 

McKesson is securing additional products, sourcing backup products, proactively allocating inventory and implementing business continuity plans in response to COVID-19-related supply shortages.

Medline is now sterilizing N95 masks to offset COVID-19-related supply shortages, CBS Chicago reports.

McKesson, Cardinal Health, Henry Schein and Medline are collaborating as part of an emergency COVID-19 relief effort led by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and HHS.

With demand for medical products up 300 percent, Medline is ramping up efforts to acquire protective masks and hand sanitizers, according to WVUE FOX 8 News.

Through surveys, emails and interviews with more than a dozen Wisconsin nurses, the Sun Prairie Star discovered that many in Madison, Monroe and Milwaukee feel unprepared to confront an expected surge of patients with COVID-19.

International shortages of personal protective equipment such as masks, gowns and face shields are leaving physicians and nurses "dangerously ill-equipped to care for COVID-19 patients," the World Health Organization declared March 3.

Arizona's statewide health information exchange has decided to use NextGen Healthcare's Health Data Hub, a platform for sharing and aggregating patient health data across EHRs, according to a Feb. 25 announcement.

ASC software provider HST Pathways is giving all of its customers access to Casetabs' Schedule Sharing technology at no charge, according to a Feb. 25 announcement.

Several ASCs have contacted Infection Control Consulting Services regarding the use of surgical masks and possible shortages caused by the coronavirus outbreak, according to a Feb. 19 update from the organization.

The newest installment at Willow Springs Surgery Center is C-arm technology, according to Block Imaging.

AmerisourceBergen Corp. is shutting down its PharMEDium compounding business, the company announced Jan. 30.

Simple Admit has integrated Dialog Health's two-way texting platform into its portfolio of automated patient relationship management solutions for ASCs, according to a Nov. 12 press release.

Cost savings are the most commonly recognized benefit of ASCs, but their value goes far beyond penny pinching.

Facing constant pressure to lower costs, ASCs are more likely than other healthcare facilities to switch devicemakers, Bain & Co. reports.

Pacira Pharmaceuticals added former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to its board of directors and posted a 23 percent year-over-year increase in net sales of its flagship product Exparel, a nonopioid postsurgical pain management local analgesic.

When shopping for medical carts, ASCs and surgical departments should evaluate locking mechanisms, mobility and functional setup, according to John Paul, territory sales manager at Armstrong Medical.

In late October, software providers HSTpathways and Casetabs announced they were collaborating to develop more efficient, functional products for U.S. surgery centers.

St. George (Utah) Surgical Center invested in two new pieces of equipment designed to enhance knee and hip arthroplasty procedures, according to Maria Todd, PhD, the ASC's director of business development.