Endoscope Contamination Problem Spreads to Simpler Models
Despite a multistep cleaning and disinfecting process, potentially harmful bacteria survive on colonoscopes and gastroscopes used to examine the gastrointestinal tract, according to a new study...
View ArticleAmbulatory Surgical Centers Face Reimbursement Challenges
A disparity in Medicare reimbursement rates continues to grow between ambulatory surgical centers and hospital outpatient departments, said Ambulatory Surgery Center Association COO Steve Miller during...
View Article81% of Healthcare Organizations Have Been Compromised by Cyber-Attacks in...
Eighty-one percent of health care executives say that their organizations have been compromised by at least one malware, botnet, or other cyber-attack during the past two years, and only half feel that...
View ArticleMake the Switch tp Safety Scalpels
You know why your surgeons need to use safety scalpels: Because government regulations and professional organizations demand them, and because you want to protect your employees from on-the-job...
View ArticleFDA allows nonanesthesia professional to administer sedation in certain cases
After years of research, debate, and Food and Drug Administration review, the federal agency will allow nonanesthesia professionals to use a device that administers sedation during colonoscopy and...
View ArticleTop-notch Tables
The advanced techniques that are bringing more and more orthopedic cases to the ambulatory arena have been supported, quite literally, by specialty tables that can do more than the traditional OR...
View Article99% of ASCs Use CMS-Mandated Checklists
Virtually every Medicare-certified ASC nationwide uses a safe surgery checklist, says the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, which last week released data on the Ambulatory Surgery Center...
View ArticleHalf of Medical Workers Contaminate Themselves When Removing Personal...
Even when they don protective gear correctly, nearly half of medical workers contaminate their skin or clothing when removing gowns and especially gloves, a recent study published in JAMA Internal...
View ArticleCertification Should Be Required, Say Sterile Processing Pros
A recent survey of 258 sterile processing professionals found that an astounding 99.2% believe that certification should be required for professionals in their field, with 87% saying that such a...
View ArticleFDA orders recall under consent decree for all Custom Ultrasonics automated...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today ordered Custom Ultrasonics to recall all of its automated endoscope reprocessors (AERs) from health care facilities due to the firm’s continued violations of...
View ArticleInfections from Flexible Endoscopes Cited as No. 1 Health Tech Hazard
Failure to adequately pre-clean flexible endoscopes before they’re sterilized heads the list of the “Top 10 Health Technology Hazards for 2016,” as determined by ECRI Institute, which publishes an...
View ArticleNationwide Outpatient Satisfaction Survey to Begin Next Month
How do your patients rate their experiences at your facility, and how do your ratings compare to those of other outpatient facilities nationwide? Beginning next month, you’ll have the chance to find...
View ArticleLegal Update: Are Your GI Lab Services Legal?
Do your gastroenterologists outsource their laboratory services? If so, you’d best ensure that their billing arrangements are on the level, because a recent advisory opinion from federal watchdogs has...
View ArticleMedical Malpractice: Could Your Front Desk Get You Sued?
Could your front desk staff be a medical malpractice risk? They can be if they’re dispensing medical advice to patients over the phone, as a recent case illustrates. Source: Outpatient Surgery
View ArticleGIs May Reduce Colonoscopy Cases Due to CMS Payment Cuts
Faced with cuts in Medicare reimbursement for colonoscopy, some gastroenterologists said they might reduce the number of procedures they do and retire earlier than they had intended, according to a...
View ArticlePointers for Preventing Cataract Surgery Infections
Cataract surgery is an extremely safe procedure performed countless times without incident, but that doesn’t mean surgeons can ignore the importance of limiting the risk of post-op infections. “It’s...
View Article10 Biggest Challenges to ASC Profitability in 2016
Ensuring ASC profitability in 2016 will require more out-of-the-box thinking than ever before due to declining reimbursements and the further fee-for-performance integration into care delivery. “2016...
View ArticleNearly 300 Colonoscopy Patients Possibly Exposed to HIV, Hepatitis
Nearly 300 patients who had colonoscopies at Baystate Noble Hospital in Westfield, Massachusetts, may have been exposed to HIV and hepatitis because of a lack of adequate disinfection measures used to...
View ArticleCMS Acting Administrator Announces Current Meaningful Use Program Will End...
Earlier this week, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt announced that, “The Meaningful Use program as it has existed, will now be effectively over and...
View Article30 things to know about ASC employee, physician compensation
ASCs are run by administrators, business office staff, clinical staff and physicians. Here are 30 things to know about how each of these groups is compensated. Source: Becker’s ASC Review
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