Departments

Departments

Message from the President

Experiencing a Surgery Center Through a New Lens

My recent experience at an ASC was not just professional but deeply personal, as my oldest daughter underwent a major surgery. It was not quite an episode of Undercover Boss, where the boss pretends to be an employee, but closer to a secret-shopper visit—except this customer had a very personal stake.


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Message from the CEO

Use ASCQC’s Safety and Quality Assessment Tool

The ASC Quality Collaboration (ASCQC) is dedicated to helping surgery centers assess and improve the quality of the care they provide to patients.


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ASCA + SAMBA 2026

Unlock Your Team’s Full Potential

Hear from the experts at ASCA + SAMBA 2026

In today’s workplace, the greatest untapped resource is not technology, capital or even talent—it is perspective.


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As I See It

Use the Principles of High Reliability to Build a Strong Safety Culture

Practice what you preach and teach by example

Safety is the primary strategy for delivering safe and quality-driven patient care, and that strategy succeeds or fails with facility culture.


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Doing Business

Fire Drills in ASCs

Turning compliance into preparedness

The purpose of fire drills in an ASC is to train staff on the correct procedures and evaluate their effectiveness in conducting the facility’s emergency evacuation procedures.


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Emergency Preparedness

Shootings in Healthcare Facilities Rise

Steps to take to keep your surgery center safe

The topic of emergency preparedness comes up regularly in workplaces, but recently, this preparation has had to be enhanced. Specifically, healthcare facilities now have to think about what to do in the case of an active shooter.


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Advocacy

ASCA Members Celebrate National ASC Month

Surgery centers host facility tours for congressional staff, advocate for their cause

In August, ASCs across the country celebrate National ASC Month to highlight the high-quality, cost-effective surgical care that surgery centers provide to their patients and communities. 90210 Surgery Medical Center in Beverly Hills, California, and South Kansas City Surgicenter in Overland Park, Kansas, hosted their members of Congress to educate them about ASCs and the work they do for their community.


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Trends

Sg2 Forecasts Significant Growth in ASC Volume

Gastroenterology, ophthalmology, orthopedics and spine procedures will see the highest increases

Sg2’s 2025 Impact of Change Forecast projects total adult ASC volume to grow 21 percent over the course of the decade. “Surgical utilization in the ASC is expected to grow 23 percent and accounts for more than 75 percent of billable activity occurring at this care site,” says Tony Guth, senior director of Sg2 Intelligence.


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Education

Master Life Safety Code Compliance

Sign up for ASCA’s virtual course this October to learn how

ASCA’s third virtual course this year, Life Safety Code for ASCs, will be broadcast live over two half days, October 23 and 24. Recordings of the sessions will be available on demand later.


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Awards

Wilson Receives Nap Gary Award for Lifetime Achievement

Her career in the ASC community spans more than 30 years

ASCA awarded its 2025 Nap Gary Legacy Award for Lifetime Achievement in the ASC Community to Kathy Wilson, RN, former executive director of the ASC Quality Collaboration.


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Q&A

Numbers That Tell the ASC Story

ASC Data, ASCA’s new affinity partner, brings the benefits of industry stats and analysis to membership

ASC Data, a provider of market intelligence for the ASC community, recently joined ASCA as an affinity partner.


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Coding

Outsourcing Coding

How to work effectively with your revenue cycle partner

It is increasingly difficult to find qualified credentialed employees with a desire to work within our brick-and-mortar ASC facilities. Business office positions, specifically the coding and billing functions, are more frequently being outsourced.


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Compliance

Conforming with Patient Privacy Rules

Protect PHI and ensure comprehensive healthcare compliance

In today’s digital age, protecting patient privacy and adhering to regulatory requirements is paramount for healthcare organizations. The stakes are high, with protected health information becoming more accessible than ever before.


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Regulations

HIPAA Biannual Update

January to June 2025

During the first half of 2025, healthcare organizations across the country posted 330 breaches of protected health information (PHI) affecting 500 or more individuals. Consistent with previous updates, rises in unauthorized access or hacking comprised almost all—98 percent—of the breaches.


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Legal Matters

Informed Consent Process in Ambulatory Surgery

Review state laws and AHRQ materials before creating your policy

In rare situations, the duration of the informed consent could present an issue. Some state laws presume that a written authorization signed by the patient is valid. Some states might specify the time frame in which consent remains valid; others require that consent be obtained no more than 30 days from the procedure. Therefore, checking state regulations is essential.


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Marketing

Build a Data-Driven Marketing Program

Foster relationships by eliminating the guesswork

Relying on word-of-mouth to cultivate awareness is not enough to establish and build reputation among potential patients in today’s competitive healthcare marketplace. Patients are using various means to shop for and select their care providers, and it is helpful to have a marketing program that connects with people as they consider options.


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Insurance

Trends in Medical Risk Transfer

Risks that are uninsurable or prohibitively expensive to insure might call for alternative risk transfer

In an ever-changing world, it is no secret that risks associated with ASCs also are evolving. Trends in medical risk transfer, however, are generally not related to ordinary risks but rather nontraditional—low frequency/high severity—risks. If these risks occur, they have the ability to bring a practice to a screeching halt. Examples of such risks include: loss or suspension of professional license, legislative and regulatory changes, cyber risk (breach of customer data and detrimental code) and related Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) violations.


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Legislature

Reintroducing the ASC Act in Congress

If passed, the Outpatient Surgery Quality and Access Act will better align Medicare’s ASC and HOPD payment systems

As this issue of ASC Focus goes to press, Congressman John Larson (D-CT) and Congressman Brad Wenstrup, DPM (R-OH), are planning to introduce the Outpatient Surgery Quality and Access Act of 2023 in the House side of the 118th Congress, and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Senator William Cassidy, MD (R-LA), are planning to introduce the legislation in the Senate.


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Quality Improvement

Stay on the Forefront of Efficiency and Quality

Consider these new strategies

During the last 27 years, as an ophthalmic surgeon, I also was part owner of an ASC in Washington, DC. While I was able to transition successfully, I wish I had had many of the tools and features available today that would have made my life easier and my business more profitable.


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Technology

The Future of ASCs

Advancing health equity through technology

“Health equity” is the state in which everyone has a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of health. Throughout my years as a surgeon and a national manager of surgery centers, I witnessed a transformation in the American healthcare landscape. Driven by the ASC industry, this transformation led and inspired improvements in efficiency and enhanced healthcare quality.


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Infection Prevention

Building Sterile Processing Organizational Capacity

How to support surgical growth in your ASC

In the April issue of ASC Focus, we asked whether an ASC’s support structures can handle the workloads, procedure acuity, regulatory requirements and future growth expectations as it expands to add specialties. We explored the specific role sterile processing plays in supporting the ASC surgical support structure and proposed two questions every ASC should ask of its sterile processing department (SPD).


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Cybersecurity

Preparing for and Responding to a Data Breach

Have a written plan, implement it in a timely manner and communicate with your patients

ASCs are attractive targets for cybercriminals. Surgery centers collect and store vast amounts of sensitive personal information. This is highly valued as it can be used for identity theft, blackmail and extortion.


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Finances

Two Healthcare Trends Drive ASC Partnerships

Surgery centers use specialized revenue cycle expertise to leverage value-based and consumer-driven care

Reflecting on this year’s healthcare trends and looking ahead to 2025, we have seen the number of ASC partnerships with health systems continue to rise steadily. Health systems are eager to contain costs, improve efficiency and prioritize patient care through ASC alliances.


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Billing

Is Your Billing Team Performing Optimally?

Take a deep dive into your processes to decide

Your ASC is well-positioned in the community. It has a good reputation, as do your providers. Your caseload is steady or perhaps growing. You have a happy, busy staff.


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Regulatory Review

Site-Neutral Policies Go Mainstream

2025 saw a burst of activity around the issue

Site-neutral reimbursement policy proposals gained more attention in 2025 with Congress introducing additional legislation on the issue and state legislatures debating proposals and creating model legislation.


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Advocacy Spotlight

Talking to CASA’s New Executive Director

Karen Reiter, RN, CASC, discusses her aspirations for the association

Karen Reiter, RN, CASC, recently became the executive director of the California Ambulatory Surgery Association (CASA), taking over from Beth LaBouyer, RN, CASC, who retired last November.


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Member Profile

Carrie Millsap

Carrie Millsap, chief executive officer of Monterey Peninsula Surgery Center in Monterey, California, discusses how ASCs can best support the addition of more complex orthopedic cases.


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Industry Insight

William A. Miller

William A. Miller, partner at Higgs, Fletcher, & Mack LLP in San Diego, California, discusses the most important legal issues for ASCs this year.


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ASCA News

Attend ASCA’s March Webinar

An engaged governing board is a key driver in the success of an ASC. Find out how to turn governing board challenges into strengths during ASCA’s webinar “Managing Diverse Personalities on Your Board,” airing live on Tuesday, March 17, at 1:00 pm ET.


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Web Crawl

Register for All ASCA Virtual Education at No Additional Cost

ASCA members receive access to ASCA’s entire suite of virtual education as part of their membership.


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