As the pandemic continues to fluctuate, infection prevention remains at the top of the list in the healthcare industry, and DisinfectWell CEO Rodrigo Zurita spoke to TASCS members on this topic, focusing on surgery centers.
On January 1, 2022, the No Surprises Act (NSA) took effect across the nation after bipartisan approval from Congress in December 2020. This new law establishes several requirements to enhance patient rights and eliminate surprise healthcare billing.
Through the NSA, surgery centers are considered “convening providers,” which means someone must coordinate how to obtain the cost for all providers working on a patient and show that estimate to the patient.
Nate Mickish has been with Texas Health Resources (THR) since 2013, and he started out building up supply chain management of non-acute care sites. As the program grew to over 300 facilities, Mickish and his team realized they could expand their work to help benefit even more centers. Thus, OnHand, one of THR’s joint ventures, was born in 2016, with a goal of offering supply chain solutions to lower costs, increase efficiency and strengthen clients’ revenues.
Last month, Progressive Surgical Solutions hosted The ASC Nurse Leadership Conference in Dallas, Texas. TASCS treasurer, Adam Hornback, attended the conference, which worked to bring three critical elements together: ambulatory surgery centers, nurses, and leadership. “At Progressive, we understand that ASC nurse leaders play a vital role in the overall success of your organization,” the brand’s website states. Therefore, the event helps nurses grow and improve processes, as well as maintain compliance and better support teams during these uncertain times.
Ambulatory surgery centers are urged to focus on standardization and reducing risks, in order to help increase the level of high-quality, cost-effective care.
The Joint Commission, which accredits and certifies over 2,200 healthcare organizations, has been around for 70 years. For the past 47 years, though, it has specifically been serving ambulatory surgery centers. Recently, Valerie Henry, the commission’s business development manager of ambulatory care services, spoke with TASCS members on the “commitment to meeting certain performance standards.”
Texas Health and Human Services explains how to meet the requirements of SB 809, so ASCs can properly report on emergency health funds procured during the pandemic.
During the 87th Texas legislative session, Senate Bill 809 passed, which requires several healthcare institutions to report emergency funds for COVID-19, as well as how much has been spent related to the public health emergency. Texas Health and Human Services’ senior financial analyst for hospital finance, Tori Ponson, and the organization’s senior financial analyst for acute care, Mohib Nawab, went over this new bill and its requirements with TASCS members.
Missy Danforth of The Leapfrog Group explains the importance of quality measurement in ASCs.
In 2019, The Leapfrog Group launched an ambulatory surgery center survey, as well as a new section to its hospital survey over outpatient procedures. Missy Danforth, vice president of healthcare ratings, stressed the importance of using these quality measurement surveys. “We want to trigger giant leaps forward in the safety, quality and affordability of healthcare, specifically by using transparency to support informed decision making and value-based purchasing,” she said.
Cosentus associates talk about financial and technological changes that will begin in the new calendar year and how they will affect surgery centers.
While the pandemic has led to a nursing shortage, it also reminded people of the importance of ambulatory surgery centers.
In August, Catherine Kane, clinical specialist at Pall Corporation, spoke to TASCS members about the dangers of surgical smoke in the operating room and how to deal with this hazard in surgery centers.
“Each year, an estimated 500,000 workers, including surgeons, nurses, anesthesiologists and surgical technologists, are exposed to laser or electrosurgical smoke,” Kane said, citing OSHA.
International Infection Prevention Week (IIPW) reminds us that while our industry was turned upside down and continues to be challenged by COVID-19, basic practices to prevent procedure- and surgical site-related infections remain critical to protecting patients and maintaining the reputation of ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) as providers of safe, high-quality care.
Consider using this year's IIPW as an opportunity to put infection prevention and infection control in the spotlight in your ASC. Encourage staff members to take this week to further step up their infection prevention and control efforts and then hold themselves accountable to the highest level of performance in these areas going forward. Let's review some of the key facets of a successful ASC infection prevention and control program.
Last month, the Texas Ambulatory Surgery Center Society hosted its annual conference in Fort Worth. For (10) years, TASCS has hosted this conference to educate and build connections within the healthcare community. This year, the conference faced a new challenge, with COVID and its variants, but the society made sure to provide masks, temperature-testing and other safety measures — including sponsor DisinfectWell’s disinfecting system — to create a comfortable environment for the 145 guests.
How important is an ASC administrator? For many surgery centers, they essentially fill the role of CEO. And depending upon the ASC, they could be the CEO of a multimillion-dollar company.
That's why it is imperative that the selection of an administrator is a decision that a center's management should not take lightly. The right administrator can help an ASC maximize its potential, delivering great care and outcomes for patients and a strong return on investment for owners. The wrong administrator can cause an ASC to struggle or even fail.
On August 19, three Modernizing Medicine associates spoke to Texas Ambulatory Surgery Center Society members about implicit bias in the healthcare system and how healthcare providers can work to narrow these inequities.
Julie Servoss, senior medical director of gastroenterology, Tacoma Perry, a medical consultant, and Michael Rivers, director of ophthalmology, began the conversation by contextualizing health inequities in the United States. Servoss talked about several areas of noticeable discrimination, including infant mortality rate and age-adjusted mortality rate.
On July 22, Maryalice StClair, the chief commercial officer with Halosil International, spoke to TASCS members about eliminating pathogens in healthcare facilities. During her presentation, she explained the importance of having a simple and affordable solution at ambulatory surgery centers.
Halosil International was established in 2008, with a line of products that help decrease healthcare-associated infections. The company prides itself on having superior disinfection solutions that achieve a 6-log kill, meaning they are extremely effective at killing pathogens and reducing the risk of spread — even more so than competing technology, such as UV lights or electrostatic sprayers.
ImageFIRST Provides The Healthcare Industry With Laundering (& So Much More)
Ambulatory surgery centers have been around since 1970, and National ASC Month is celebrated each year in August. During this time, facilities can boost awareness and help inform more people about the benefits of ASCs.
Robert Marinich is the head of sales at HST Pathways and has been working there for almost 10 years. During this time, he has fallen in love with the job and feels blessed to wake up every day, getting to help the healthcare industry with efficiency, cost-savings and so much more. “We care less about the politics and more about the client,” Marinich said. “And this client-first mentality is key to success.”
HST Pathways offers technological solutions and innovations for ambulatory surgery centers through several programs: case coordination, practice management and electronic health records. These programs work in tandem to create the ultimate experience for patient caregivers, and these three services bundled together computerize every step of the process to make for a more efficient facility that allows caregivers to spend more time with the patients and less time charting.
On June 24, Laura Schneider, the senior clinical director at AMSURG, explained some key issues and tips for running drills in ambulatory surgery centers. With over 40 years of experience in the healthcare industry, Schneider has dealt with most situations for which these drills are built to help staff be ready.
One of the biggest differences between hospitals and surgery centers is the amount of resources they have, so when ASCs are preparing for potential emergencies, it’s important that they allocate their resources and staff effectively. “There’s not always extra people around, so you’ve got to use your resources wisely,” Schneider said. “You want to make sure you’re prepared.”
On June 10, Bob Marinich, head of sales for HST Pathways, talked to Texas Ambulatory Surgery Center Society members about implementing electronic health records successfully in their surgery centers.
In the past, EHRs received a bad name because they were slow and hard to use, Marinich said. They were designed by programmers rather than the people who would be using them. Today, though, EHRs are significantly better, due to technological advancements and an increasing understanding of healthcare needs. Still, less than 10% of ASCs are utilizing EHRs. This is in part due to their poor history but also because these programs are not subsidized and have no CMS guidelines.
