Pleased to be the Guest Editor at Outpatient Surgery Magazine on our firm's approach to increasing the value delivered to our facility partners, while bending cost curves downward. Always good to discuss how to improve the surgical and anesthesia delivery system.
Great article, anesthesia is going through a transition unlike anything most of us have ever seen. Understanding and adapting to these changes will mean the difference between healthy, thriving practices, and practices that will struggle to keep up with the changes. Thanks to these changes, there are some fantastic opportunities out there for practices ready to capitalize on them.
ASGE, ACG and AGA, submitted recommendations to CMS for improving practice issues and payment rates for gastroenterologists next year. Our comments were in response to CMS’ 2024 proposed rules for the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System and Ambulatory Surgery Centers. We expect CMS to release the final Medicare rules later this fall. Learn the key points here: https://bit.ly/3PUtwaE#GIEndoscopy#Endoscopy#Gastroenterology
#ICYMI: Outpatient Surgery Magazine published an article about the standards of surgical site marking and how to avoid a potential disaster in an OR with a few simple tips: https://bit.ly/45LBdGBOutpatient Surgery Magazine
I might be one of the only hospital CEO’s in the country that will say…..
I support site neutral payments!!!
I only support them if “neutral” requirements are applied to all sites such as the following:
1- All neutral sites must provide care regardless of the patients ability to pay. (Like hospitals)
2- All neutral sites have to prioritize and treat Medicaid patients the same way insured patients are prioritized. No cap on how many Medicaid patients you’ll see.
3- Each neutral site is required to have an aggressive charity care policy and provide financial counselors to help patients access their charity care.
Changing the CMS policy to site neutral will not eliminate the charitable care need, the need for access the vulnerable Medicaid population has (my community has no dental access to Medicaid), or fix the major subsidies and cost shifting necessary to enact the three rules listed above. (Those three are a few of the thousands we have to comply with) As anyone could easily calculate, independent imaging centers and ASC’s could not operate at their current pricing structure without sending all the social issues and high need patients to the hospital. This policy will exacerbate the healthcare inequities our country currently faces.
Leave it to the insurance industry to keep the finger pointed at the organization actually providing care, while they shuffle papers, rake in record profits, and pay executives tens of millions of dollars.
Fierce Healthcare shares a recent report showing that outpatient hospital care often comes with a higher price tag compared to care at doctors’ offices or surgery centers. Site-neutral payments would provide benefits to patients across the healthcare system.
#HealthcareCosts#HealthcareAccess
Have you ever wondered about the story behind the anesthesia that revolutionized surgeries and improved patient experiences? 🤔 In 1846, ether marked a pivotal moment in medicine and anesthesia. Fast forward 130 years, and Dr. John (Iain) B. Glen transformed 2,6 diisopropylphenol into the game-changing propofol we know today.
Here are a few benefits to Propofol:
✅Lightning-Fast Onset: Quick and smooth anesthesia induction.
✅Swift Awakening: Rapid metabolism ensures a clear-headed wake-up.
✅Significantly reduced nausea and vomiting.
✅Innovative Imaging: Enables safe imaging in young children, enhancing diagnosis.
✅Ambulatory Surgery Growth: Paved the way for outpatient procedures.
Glen's journey, from a vet student to a groundbreaking researcher, is inspiring. He persisted even when trials were put on hold in 1980 and he proved propofol's safety. Propofol is now available in 90 countries and millions of patients each year receive propofol anesthesia by continuous infusion.
You can read more about him and watch a short video as well here: https://lnkd.in/gh-qprkW
Photo source: https://lnkd.in/gNSnGuyn#operatingroom#surgery#anesthesia#crna#ornurse#scrubtech
What you need to know about PONV ...
Post-operative nausea and vomiting is a common complication experienced by patients following surgery. PONV can lead to more serious complications including dehydration, electrolyte imbalances, increased pain or discomfort, delayed discharge and readmission.
Assessment of risk factors, modification of anaesthesia and post-operative PONV management plan are essential to improve patient comfort and reduce the duration of hospital stay.
Hear more about PONV in our Perioperative Nursing Update Course - Module 3 Therapeutics. Click here to register: https://loom.ly/y3LHosI#Medcast#Medcasteducation#Nursingessentials#Nursingresources#Nursing
🏥 Discover the advantages of Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs) versus Hospital-Based Outpatient Departments (HOPDs) in our latest article! 💡 Learn about the differences in patient care, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness:
Huge congratulations to the entire team at ABC 4C for the powerful Pain Factory episode last night. It was an honour to work with Adele Ferguson and team on this important story.
For anyone interested, you can download the report from our website https://lnkd.in/ePZ2Zz7t.
There were many troubling findings - impossible times, invasive monitoring, questionable billing of long consultations, unlikely management plan reviews, non-compliant admissions to ICU, concerning overuse of pathology and imaging, and the list goes on. Eg:
“The incidence of anaesthetists claiming that patients were having advanced spinal surgery when they were not (as per Medicare rules) was prolific...the
national hospital procedure data for the 2021-2022 year records 3254 spinal
fixation surgeries involving 3 or more spinal levels, many of which would have been done in public hospitals and therefore not billed through the MBS. Yet the national MBS data for the same period records anaesthetists claiming that 10,082 allegedly advanced spinal surgeries took place. This huge mismatch supports our results that over 70% of MBS item 20670 (advanced spinal surgery) were likely incorrect.”
We will not find truth through mudslinging. What we need now is facts, which must take the form of an independent audit of medical records. We therefore welcome Rachel David's statement to immediately investigate via audit.
We have started auditing today. I have been granted access to medical records of the amazing, brave patients in the show. I also have most of their #medicare, private health & workers comp records dating back many years, with more to come. I also have quotes & invoices from anaesthetists & surgeons. Bad behaviour is already apparent.
In one case where I have the full records, I can see that an anaesthetist has billed ASA 3 which is not what he circled on the anaesthetic sheet. This basically means he billed that the patient was more complex than was true, for financial gain.
In regards ICU billing, if the anaesthetist genuinely spent over 45 minutes “taking an exhaustive history, comprehensively examining multiple systems, formulating a written patient management plan involving medical planning of high complexity,” to take Trudi to x-ray for a CT/MRI and bring her back, it will be documented, so let’s see.
We must never forget the essence of what we are dealing with here which is stealing. It is theft. Ordinary Australians are dealt with harshly when they are accused of stealing from the public purse - think Robodebt. We cannot have one standard for ordinary Australians who are not allowed to steal, and another for doctors who are, because that would place doctors above the law. More audit findings to come.
#fourcorners#PatientSafety#ChronicPain#overtreatment#SpinalCordStimulation#SpinalFusion#healthcarepaymentintegrity#robodebtLeo Cussen Centre for LawKirontechPrivate Healthcare AustraliaAustralian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)
Beat the Post-Op Pharmacy 🥼 Rush: How Point of Care streamlines patient care ⏰ 😄
No one likes waiting in line, for pain medication post surgery 🤕. The lengthy delays and frustrations at pharmacies can be quite a hassle for patients recovering from surgery and the busy staff at your practice.
The great news is there's a solution! Opting for Point of Care dispensing through A-S Medication Solutions can alleviate this frustration for both your patients and your staff.
Picture it 🤔🤓
Happy patients: Recovering comfortably at home with their medication 💊 in hand removing the anxiety of surgery trips, to the pharmacy.
Efficient staff: Concentrating on delivering top notch patient care instead of dealing with pharmacy inquiries or prescription refills.
Implementing point of care dispensing could revolutionize your practice.
It has the potential to:
-Enhance satisfaction ratings. ✅
-Increase staff. Efficiency.
-Reduce burdens on your practice. ️
Are you ready to bid farewell to post operative pharmacy challenges and simplify your practice?
Discover more about how A-S Medication Solutions can assist you in establishing a Point of Care program.
#orthopedics#patientsatisfaction#pointofcare#healthcare
P.S. Share your biggest pharmacy wait time frustrations in the comments! Let’s get a conversation going about how to improve the post-surgery experience for everyone.
Founder: Advanced Anesthesia Services and Northwest Ketamine Clinics
4moGreat article, anesthesia is going through a transition unlike anything most of us have ever seen. Understanding and adapting to these changes will mean the difference between healthy, thriving practices, and practices that will struggle to keep up with the changes. Thanks to these changes, there are some fantastic opportunities out there for practices ready to capitalize on them.