We had the chance to sit down with Kara Newbury, ASCA’s Chief Advocacy Officer, to discuss what ASCs can expect in 2025. CMS officially published its 2025 Final Payment Rule, so we covered Medicare reimbursement rates, changes to the ASC Covered Procedure List, updates to the ASC Quality Reporting Program, and some other topics that every ASC should be aware of.

After my conversation with Kara, we’ll switch to our Data & Insights segment. In September, HST released our annual State of the Industry report, which analyzed client data from 590 surgery centers. Today, I’ll share with you the numbers we were able to put together regarding OR efficiency and patient throughput. We’ll look at OR Start Time, OR Duration, OR Turnover, and Recovery times.

Also, this week’s episode will be our last one in 2024. There will not be any new episodes on December 24th or December 31st, but we will hit the ground running on Tuesday, January 7th, with a brand new series on payor contracts. If you need content to hold you over, please see the list of educational resources below.

So, with that, we hope you all enjoy the holiday season with your loved ones, and we will see you after the New Year.

Resources:

 * Connect with Maia Kunkel [https://www.ascassociation.org/asca/about/asca-staff] from ASCA for help scheduling a facility tour
 * HST’s State of the Industry Report [https://www.hstpathways.com/resources/surgery-center-industry-report/]
 * ASC Data & Benchmarking Video Playlist [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDx71-LEzZx_qhmkR89aW2kCGoa20ydHX]
 * Content Bundles by Topic [https://www.hstpathways.com/content-bundles/] (board meetings, OR utilization, EMRs, etc.)

Brought to you by HST Pathways.

Kara Newbury – Acting on CMS' 2025 Final Payment Rule 

Mel Gunawardena is the Co-founder and Managing partner at SYNERGEN Health, and he is here to share with us a few things that every RCM expert needs to know. In this episode, Mel shares essential insights every RCM expert needs to know, including best practices for ASCs, how technology is revolutionizing the process, and the key considerations for keeping RCM in-house versus outsourcing.

In our news recap, we’ll cover a new surgical tech training center, what to watch out for in your payer contracts, a new controversial decision by Anthem, and, of course, end the news segment with a positive story about a new, game changing therapy for people with asthma or COPD.

Articles Mentioned:

Plaza College unveils $1 million surgical tech training center in Forest Hills [https://qns.com/2024/12/plaza-college-unveils-1-million-surgical-tech-training-center-in-forest-hills/]

Watch Out for Payer Contract Proposal Red Flags [https://www.ascfocus.org/ascfocus/content/articles-content/articles/2024/november/watch-out-for-payer-contract-proposal-red-flags]

Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Won’t Pay for the Complete Duration of Anesthesia for Patients’ Surgical Procedures [https://www.asahq.org/about-asa/newsroom/news-releases/2024/11/anthem-blue-cross-blue-shield-will-not-pay-complete-duration-of-anesthesia-for-surgical-procedures] [Editor’s Note: since this episode was published, Anthem has decided to reverse this policy.]

Doctors hail an asthma ‘breakthrough’ [https://www.positive.news/society/good-news-stories-from-week-48-of-2024/]

HST’s State of the Industry Report [https://www.hstpathways.com/resources/surgery-center-industry-report/]

Brought to you by HST Pathways.

Mel Gunawardena – What an Experienced RCM Expert Needs to Know 

This week, our host, Nick Latz, sits down with Joan Dentler, Founder of Avanza Healthcare Strategies, to explore the insights from their 6th Annual Hospital Leadership ASC Survey. Together, they break down the survey results, uncovering key trends in ASC ownership, the growing interest from hospitals and health systems, the equity dynamics, and the role of third-party management companies. And the best part is that all these insights are backed by the data Joan and her team have aggregated and analyzed, so the takeaways are equal part interesting and meaningful.

After Nick’s conversation with Joan, we’ll switch to our Data & Insights segment. HST released our annual State of the Industry report in September, which analyzed client data from 590 surgery centers. Today I’ll share with you the numbers we were able to put together regarding Pre-Authorization Rates and Insurance Verification Rates, and we’ll look at how that compared to 2023.

Resources Mentioned:

 * HST’s State of the Industry Report [https://www.hstpathways.com/resources/surgery-center-industry-report]
 * Avanza’s 6th annual Hospital Leadership ASC Survey will not be publicly available until January 2025. Please check their website for any updates: https://avanzastrategies.com. [https://avanzastrategies.com/intelligence/]

Brought to you by HST Pathways.

Joan Dentler – The Latest ASC Market Trends from Hospital Leaders

We’ve explored many topics related to opening an ASC, but today’s episode dives into something very specific and exciting. Three experts from Align Health join us to discuss what it takes to open an ASC with a cardiovascular focus.

Cardiovascular is one of the hottest specialties right now, with reimbursement per case ranking second only to orthopedics. But with great opportunity comes unique challenges—feasibility, construction, staffing, technology, and so much more.

In our news recap, we’ll cover ASCA’s latest survey regarding access to anesthesia, how health systems are publicly ranking AI models, the critical role of ASCs during national emergencies, and, of course, end the news segment with a positive story about a nurse who went above and beyond to help a family in need.

Resources Mentioned:

 * ASCA Survey Shows Improvement in Access to Anesthesia Services [https://www.ascfocus.org/ascfocus/content/articles-content/articles/2024/digital-debut/asca-survey-shows-improvement-in-access-to-anesthesia-services]
 * Health systems band together to test and publicly rank top AI models [https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/health-systems-band-together-test-and-publicly-rank-top-ai-models/732909/]
 * The Critical Role of ASCs During National Emergencies [https://ascnews.com/2024/11/the-critical-role-of-ascs-during-national-emergencies/]
 * Celebrating Compassion: Heather Braden Helps Family in Time of Need [https://www.dailynurse.com/celebrating-compassion-heather-braden-helps-family-in-time-of-need/]

Brought to you by HST Pathways.

Align Health – Opening a Cardiovascular ASC 

Matt Lau, Senior Vice President of Client Accounting & Financial Services at MedHQ, has been helping ASCs manage their financials for over 20 years. With more than 400 budgets under his belt, Matt has developed a simple, no-nonsense, 4-step process for creating budgets that actually work. In today’s episode, we’ll break down those four steps and hear some great stories and insights from Matt along the way. Whether you’re new to budgeting or just looking to streamline your approach or hear how others do it, this conversation is packed with really great advice.

If you’re looking for more advice on Annual Budget Planning:

 * Check out last week’s episode [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0SNO8Byz54] on Knowing Your Audience with Suzi Walton and Matt Cavanagh
 * Watch MedHQ’s webinar [https://medhq.com/webinars/asc-budgeting/] on Navigating ASC Budgeting with Matt Lau

Brought to you by HST Pathways.

Matt Lau – Annual Budget Planning: 4-Step Process 

We're excited to kick off a brand-new series all about Annual Budget Planning. This is something that every surgery center needs to do to some degree to make sure the following year is successful, and everyone's on the same page. But here's the interesting part: in the conversations I've had while prepping for this series, it's clear that no two ASCs handle budget planning the same way. The process varies widely, and the budget's role in daily operations can look very different depending on the center.

I sat down with Suzi Walton and Matt Cavanagh to get us started. Suzi, the administrator at Ohio Surgery Center, has over a dozen budget cycles under her belt. Matt, a Principal at Clifton, Larson, Allen, has nearly 20 years of experience working directly with ASCs. Together, they shared insights on how your approach to budget planning might shift depending on your audience. Whether you're physician-owned, part of a management group, or involved in a joint venture, Suzi and Matt explain how these ownership models influence the budgeting process.

After my conversation with Suzi and Matt, we'll switch to our Data & Insights segment. In September, HST released our annual State of the Industry report, which analyzed client data from 590 surgery centers. The metric I'm excited to dive into today with you is OR Block Utilization trends. We'll cover what the 2024 numbers showed and tips for improving OR utilization overall.

Resources Mentioned:

 * View the online version of the State of the Industry Report [https://www.hstpathways.com/resources/surgery-center-industry-report/]
 * Request a free, printed copy of the report [https://www.cognitoforms.com/HSTPathways1/RequestAPrintedCopyOfTheStateOfTheIndustryReport]
 * Listen to the podcast episode on Maximizing OR Utilization Through Block Time Optimization [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wITXesojrqw]

Brought to you by HST Pathways.

Annual Budget Planning: Knowing Your Audience  

Welcome to the third and final episode of our series on Improving Patient Collections! Over the past two episodes, we’ve explored mastering eligibility and shared valuable tips for post-date of service collections. Today, we’re excited to bring you insights from Marie Yarborough, the administrator at Sequoia Surgical Pavilion in Walnut Creek, California. With over 15 years of experience in healthcare administration, Marie has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to optimizing patient collections. In this episode, she’ll dive into key strategies for upfront collections, how third-party financing can help, the impact of the No Surprises Act, and how technology is transforming the process.

In our news recap, we’ll cover growing concerns from various ASC leaders, a new hospital price transparency bill that if passed will impact ASCs, Walmart’s new pharmacy delivery initiative, and, of course, end the news segment with a positive story about three nurses who went viral for their new CPR training technique.

Resources Mentioned:

ASCs sound alarm on mounting threats [https://www.beckersasc.com/asc-leaders/ascs-sound-alarm-on-mounting-threats.html]

New Hospital Price Transparency Bill in Pennsylvania Could Impact ASCs [https://www.ascassociation.org/asca/news-and-publications/ga-update/2024/10-24]

Walmart adds pharmacy to same-day delivery [https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/walmart-pharmacy-grocery-same-day-delivery/730590/]

Texas Nurses Rock CPR: Using Sabrina Carpenter’s Hit to Save Lives [https://www.dailynurse.com/texas-nurses-rock-cpr-using-sabrina-carpenters-hit-to-save-lives/]

Brought to you by HST Pathways.

Marie Yarborough – Improving Patient Collections: Proven Strategies 

Welcome back to our three-part series on Improving Patient Collections! In our last episode, we were joined by Sayword Hill from Constitution, who shared expert insights on mastering eligibility. This week, while we had originally planned to bring you another guest to dive into post-date of service (DOS) collections, plans shifted due to Hurricane Milton. So, it's just me, Erica Palmer, taking the mic solo to share actionable tips for boosting patient collections after your patients are discharged.

This episode couldn’t have come at a better time! HST recently released our State of the Industry Report, packed with valuable data, including insights on outstanding post-DOS patient bills. I’ll be weaving that data into today's episode as I break down key strategies to improve your collections process and maximize your revenue.

Resources Mentioned:

HST’s 2024 State of the Industry Report [https://www.hstpathways.com/resources/surgery-center-industry-report/]

Brought to you by HST Pathways.

Erica Palmer – Improving Patient Collections: Post-Date of Service 

In this episode, we’re kicking off a three-part series on Improving Patient Collections with Sayword Hill, SVP of Revenue Cycle at Constitution. Sayword shares valuable insights on mastering patient eligibility, ensuring you're not performing procedures on uninsured patients, and helping prevent claim denials.

In our news recap, we’ll cover the opening of a new cardiovascular ASC, the impact of Hurricane Milton on hospitals, how AI is easing the charting burden for nurses, and end on a heartwarming note with the story of conjoined twins who just celebrated their first birthday after a successful separation surgery.

Resources Mentioned:

 * Bon Secours Mercy Health, Compass Surgical Partners, AlignedCardio to Open Cardiovascular ASC [https://ascnews.com/2024/10/bon-secours-mercy-health-compass-surgical-partners-alignedcardio-to-open-cardiovascular-asc/]
 * Hurricane Milton disrupts infrastructure, could trigger more hospital evacuations in Florida [https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/hurricane-milton-hits-hospitals-florida/729463/]
 * How AI could tame the charting madness for nurses [https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/how-ai-could-tame-charting-madness-nurses]
 * Twin Boys Born Conjoined Celebrate 1st Birthday After Separation Surgery [https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2024-10-09/twins-born-conjoined-celebrate-1st-birthday-after-separation-surgery]
 * HST’s 2024 State of the Industry Report [https://www.hstpathways.com/resources/surgery-center-industry-report/]
 * Learn more about HST Clariti [https://www.hstpathways.com/products/hst-clariti/], the solution Sayword and her team use to verify eligibility

Brought to you by HST Pathways.

Sayword Hill – Improving Patient Collections: Mastering Eligibility 

On September 25th, HST Pathways released the 2024 edition of our annual State of the Industry Report. If you're unfamiliar, we launched the report last year to provide best practices, key process steps, and key performance indicators for every stage of the patient journey and the most common administrative tasks in ASCs. What makes this report unique is that it’s built using real data from 590 ASCs across 47 states, giving you free benchmarking tools based on actual performance metrics.

This year’s edition features over 130 KPIs to track, 50 chapters, 36 charts—including 12 year-over-year comparisons—and 5 key emerging trends. Our Senior Director of Data Science and Insights, Will Evans, and Erica Palmer, Director of Content Marketing, created this report, and together, they hosted a webinar to dive deeper into the 5 emerging trends and 13 key benchmarks. In this week’s episode, we’re sharing the full recording of that discussion.

Resources Mentioned:

 * View the 2024 State of the Industry Report [https://www.hstpathways.com/resources/surgery-center-industry-report/]
 * Request a Printed Copy of the Report [https://www.cognitoforms.com/HSTPathways1/RequestAPrintedCopyOfTheStateOfTheIndustryReport]
 * Download the Webinar Slides [https://www.hstpathways.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/13-Benchmarks-and-5-Trends-for-ASCs-Insights-from-the-2024-SOTI-Report.pdf]
 * Three Metrics to Drive Your Growth Strategy [https://www.hstpathways.com/blog/three-metrics-to-drive-your-ascs-growth-strategy/]
 * Block Time Optimization [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wITXesojrqw]



Brought to you by HST Pathways

13 Benchmarks + 5 Trends for ASCs: Insights from the 2024 State of the Industry Report 

If you’re in the ASC industry, then you’re in the right place. Every week our hosts will recap the latest news impacting ASCs, and share an interesting conversation we had with our featured guest. New episodes released every Tuesday!

This Week In Surgery Centers

Shows