Andy Berg, Director of Clinical Staffing at MedHQ, joined us for the sixth installment of our De Novo series to discuss the intricacies of assembling the ideal team for a new surgery center. Regardless of whether you're opening an ASC, the episode is filled with invaluable insights on staff recruitment, flexible hiring strategies, identifying leadership qualities, and ensuring your existing team is actively engaged in the interview process.

In our news recap, we'll cover the gigification of the healthcare industry, ASCA's official comments in response to Medicare's 2024 proposed payment rule, the nurses' strike still going on at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, and of course, end the news segment with a positive story about a new 'nuclear' prostate cancer treatment that is improving lives.



Articles Mentioned

The Gigification of Healthcare [https://medcitynews.com/2023/09/the-gigification-of-healthcare/]

ASCA Submits Comments on 2024 Payment Policies [https://www.ascassociation.org/asca/news-and-publications/ga-update/2023/09-14] (Recap)

ASCA Submits Comments on 2024 Payment Policies [https://higherlogicdownload.s3.amazonaws.com/ASCACONNECT/975a33fe-e4b9-41ad-92b4-8f6bbfc25293/UploadedImages/documents/regulatory/medicare/2024/medicare-asc-proposed-rule-ASCA-comment-letter-2024.pdf] (Full)

‘It is time to settle the strike’: RWJUH nurse work stoppage hits 40th day [https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/robert-wood-johnson-university-hospital-strike-fortieth-day/693353/]

A ‘nuclear’ treatment brought hope to people with prostate cancer [https://www.positive.news/society/good-news-stories-from-week-37-of-2023/]



Interesting in learning more about opening a new surgery center? Check out our related episodes:

• Michael McClain – Opening an ASC: Navigating Payer Contracts

• Wil Schlaff – Opening an ASC: Conducting a Comprehensive Feasibility Assessment

• Dawn Pfeiffer – Ask the Expert: Best Practices for Opening a New Surgery Center

• Beata Canby – Opening an ASC: Managing the Regulatory and Certification Process

• Gregory DeConciliis – Opening an ASC: Clinical Preparation



Brought to you by HST Pathways.

Andy Berg – Opening an ASC: Finding Your Dream Team

Greg DeConciliis is a Physician Assistant and Administrator at Boston Out-Patient Surgical Suites. He spent time with us today to share tips and insights on properly preparing the clinical side of the house while you are opening a new surgery center. In this 5th episode of our De Novo series, we’ll cover who your first hire should be and when, which clinical team members you must have in place to receive all the necessary licensing, preparing for quality reporting, and other clinical considerations to keep in mind.

In our news recap, we’ll cover what the future holds for the outpatient surgery workforce, a decapitated boy who was saved by his surgical team, tips for working with local authorities to create an emergency plan, and, of course, end the news segment with a positive story about a groundbreaking surgery gave a woman her voice back.



Articles Mentioned:

5 ASC leaders on meeting workforce expectations [https://www.beckersasc.com/asc-news/we-have-to-adjust-5-asc-leaders-on-meeting-workforce-expectations.html]

'Decapitated' Boy Saved by Surgery Team [https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/995427]

Work With Local Authorities to Create an Emergency Plan [https://www.ascfocus.org/ascfocus/content/articles-content/articles/2023/september/work-with-local-authorities-to-create-an-emergency-plan]

Groundbreaking surgery gives woman her voice back [https://theweek.com/briefing/it-wasnt-all-bad/1026175/good-news-doll-reunion]



Interesting in learning more about opening a new surgery center? Check out our related episodes:

 * Michael McClain – Opening an ASC: Navigating Payer Contracts
 * Wil Schlaff – Opening an ASC: Conducting a Comprehensive Feasibility Assessment
 * Dawn Pfeiffer – Ask the Expert: Best Practices for Opening a New Surgery Center
 * Beata Canby – Opening an ASC: Managing the Regulatory and Certification Process



Brought to you by HST Pathways.

Gregory DeConciliis – Opening an ASC: Clinical Preparation

Beata Canby is a principal and partner at LeftCoast Healthcare Advisors, and she joins us today to talk about managing the regulatory and certification process while trying to open a new surgery center. Beata does a great job of breaking down the fundamental agencies to know, what order to get your certifications in, and tips for speeding up the process and staying organized.

In our news recap, we’ll cover another research study that compared ChatGPT responses to ophthalmologists, new surgical smoke evacuation requirements, UnitedHealthcare’s new prior authorization requirements (or lack thereof), and, of course, end the news segment with a positive story about how a severely paralyzed woman got her voice and likeness back with new technology that combines AI with a brain-computer interface.

Articles Mentioned:

Chatbots as Accurate as Ophthalmologists in Giving Advice [https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/995856]

New Surgical Smoke Evacuation Requirements to Kick In [https://www.ascfocus.org/ascfocus/content/articles-content/articles/2023/digital-debut/new-surgical-smoke-evacuation-requirements-to-kick-in]

The new prior authorization rules going into effect Sept. 1 [https://www.beckersasc.com/asc-coding-billing-and-collections/the-new-prior-authorization-rules-going-into-effect-sept-1.html]

How Artificial Intelligence Gave a Paralyzed Woman Her Voice Back [https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2023/08/425986/how-artificial-intelligence-gave-paralyzed-woman-her-voice-back]



Interesting in learning more about opening a new surgery center? Check out our related episodes:

 * Michael McClain – Opening an ASC: Navigating Payer Contracts
 * Wil Schlaff – Opening an ASC: Conducting a Comprehensive Feasibility Assessment
 * Dawn Pfeiffer – Ask the Expert: Best Practices for Opening a New Surgery Center



Brought to you by HST Pathways.

Beata Canby – Opening an ASC: Managing the Regulatory and Certification Process

This is a special LIVE edition of This Week in Surgery Centers!

Dawn Pfeiffer is the Director of Integration at Regent Surgical Health and a tenured ASC consultant. She has had a hand in opening many successful surgery centers, so we spent an hour with her covering as many best practices as we could and exploring effective strategies for a smooth process and successful opening. Together, we addressed common challenges, shared proven solutions to avoid missteps, and answered questions on the fly from those who attended live.

We covered the following and more:

• Feasibility Assessment: key components, CONs, red flags

• Facility Construction: planning, finding an architect, inspections

• Regulatory/Certification Process: state licensing, accreditation, life safety issues

• Payer Contracting: timing, negotiations, terms

• Quality/Clinical Preparation: reporting, initial clinical hires, staff recruitment

• Business Preparation: capital equipment, vendor contracts, software selection

• Opening & Marketing Ideas: community education, media coverage

• Continuous Improvement: QAPI, benchmarking, new technology



Interesting in learning more about opening a new surgery center? Check out our two previous episodes:

• Michael McClain – Opening an ASC: Navigating Payer Contracts

• Wil Schlaff – Opening an ASC: Conducting a Comprehensive Feasibility Assessment



Brought to you by HST Pathways.

Dawn Pfeiffer – Ask the Expert: Best Practices for Opening a New Surgery Center

Last week we sat down with Wil Schlaff to talk about how to conduct a feasibility assessment for your new surgery center. 

As a continuation of that conversation, we’re sitting down with Michael McClain to discuss navigating payer contracts for your new surgery center. Michael is the founder and managing member at LeftCoast Healthcare Advisors, and we are talking through how to initiate payer conversations, positioning yourself to get the best rates, effectively managing contracts, and so much more.

In our news recap, we’ll cover the government’s plan to grow the nursing workforce, how to implement more safety and security measures at your ASC, the use of machine learning to predict the suitability for having a surgical procedure performed at an ASC vs. an HOPD, and of course, end the news segment with a positive story about how many steps a day you actually need to remain healthy.

Articles Mentioned:

The Biden-Harris Administration Announces $100 Million to Grow the Nursing Workforce [https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2023/08/10/biden-harris-administration-announces-100-million-grow-nursing-workforce.html]

Implement Security Safeguards [https://www.ascfocus.org/ascfocus/content/articles-content/articles/2023/august/implement-security-safeguards]

Using machine learning to predict suitability for surgery at an ASC vs HOPD [https://www.ormanager.com/briefs/using-machine-learning-to-predict-suitability-for-surgery-at-an-asc/?oly_enc_id=8797F2397067J0C]

No pressure to walk 10,000 steps, scientists said [https://www.positive.news/society/good-news-stories-from-week-32-of-2023/]

Brought to you by HST Pathways.

Michael McClain – Opening an ASC: Navigating Payer Contracts 

Wil Schlaff is no stranger to the process of opening up a new surgery center. As an ASC Development and Operations Specialist, he has worked on many new builds from their infancy stage through to the first patient walking in the door. Today, he joins us to discuss the importance and logistics of Conducting a Comprehensive Feasibility Assessment. From determining market demand to physician recruitment to securing financing, Wil and our host Nick Latz cover as much as they can on this critical topic.

In our news recap, we’ll cover how one community in Michigan is fixing their sterile processing technician shortage, some advice from an admin in Idaho on how to get creative to solve your staffing and supply chain issues, ways to celebrate National ASC Month, and of course, end the news segment with a positive story about an experimental gene therapy gel that has helped one teen gain his sight back.

Articles Mentioned:

Planting the Seeds of Sterile Processing Careers [https://www.aorn.org/outpatient-surgery/news/enews-briefs/article/august-3--2023#story4]

Why creativity is the key to ASC survival [https://www.beckersasc.com/leadership/why-creativity-is-the-key-to-asc-survival.html]

Celebrating National ASC Month [https://www.ascassociation.org/govtadvocacy/grassrootsadvocacy/nationalascmonth]

Teen's vision restored after using gene therapy eyedrops [https://theweek.com/briefing/it-wasnt-all-bad/1025329/the-weeks-good-news-july-27-2023]

Brought to you by HST Pathways.

Wil Schlaff – Opening an ASC: Conducting a Comprehensive Feasibility Assessment

In this week's episode, we are deviating from our regular guest discussions and stories to exclusively dive into the CMS 2024 Proposed Payment Rule. Maura Cash, our VP of Clinical Strategies here at HST Pathways, has examined the extensive 963-page document, extracting the good, the bad, and the mixed proposed rules that directly impact the surgery center industry. Feedback from additional industry experts, such as Bill Prentice and Kara Newbury from ASCA, was also incorporated in the episode.

Helpful Articles to Learn More:

Navigating Changes in the CMS Proposed 2024 Payment Rule for ASCs by Maura Cash [https://www.hstpathways.com/2023/07/26/navigating-changes-in-the-cms-proposed-2024-payment-rule-for-ambulatory-surgery-centers-ascs/]

Read ASCA’s Recap on the Proposed Payment Rule [https://www.ascassociation.org/asca/aboutus/latestnews/newsarchive/newsarchive2023/july2023/202307-medicare-2024-proposed-payment-rule]

Submit comments to CMS: https://www.regulations.gov/document/CMS-2023-0120-0002

Brought to you by HST Pathways.

Navigating Changes in the CMS 2024 Proposed Payment Rule for ASCs 

Dr. Betsy Grunch is a highly talented board-certified neurosurgeon based in Georgia, and if that isn’t impressive enough, she also happens to be a social media influencer who shares her content with millions of followers across TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn under the name LadySpineDoc. She joins us on this week’s episode to talk about how her use of social media has helped increase her case volume, the pros and cons of having such a large following, and how other healthcare professionals can get started.

In our news recap, we’ll cover a former nursing school president who awarded 7,600 fake diplomas, a crisis amongst rural hospitals, the impact of weekend warrior activity on heart health, and of course, end the news segment with a positive story about new lollipop testers that can detect strep throat and other illnesses.

Articles Mentioned:

Former nursing school president sentenced to 21 months for awarding 7.6K fake diplomas [https://www.beckersasc.com/asc-news/former-nursing-school-president-sentenced-to-21-months-for-awarding-7-6k-fake-diplomas.html]

More Than 30% of Rural Hospitals Are at Risk of Closure, Report Warns [https://medcitynews.com/2023/07/rural-hospital-insurance-finance/]

Does a ‘weekend warrior’ physical activity pattern prevent cardiovascular disease? [https://www.ormanager.com/briefs/does-a-weekend-warrior-physical-activity-pattern-prevent-cardiovascular-disease/]

Lollipop Testers Detect Illness and 'Sweeten' Diagnosis [https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/994345]



Brought to you by HST Pathways.

Dr. Grunch – Using Social Media to Influence Your Bottom Line 

Surgery centers often struggle to predict if a case will be profitable before taking it on, especially with complex and high-acuity cases. Gavin Fabian is the Chief Innovation Officer at HST Pathways, and alongside his team, he decided to tackle this problem head-on and build first-of-its-kind software that would arm ASCs with the data they need to avoid unprofitable cases and take on cases with financial confidence. Learn more about the development of HST Profit Forecast, its many use cases, and what clients are saying thus far.

In our news recap, we’ll cover a little bit of the CMS 2024 Proposed Payment Rule, Northwestern Medicine’s AI success, an Ohio physician who lost her medical license, and of course, end the news segment with a positive story about a woman’s dedication to receiving her nursing license even with 35 years of setbacks.

Articles Mentioned:

CMS Releases 2024 Proposed Medicare Payment Rule [https://www.ascassociation.org/asca/aboutus/latestnews/newsarchive/newsarchive2023/july2023/202307-medicare-2024-proposed-payment-rule]

Artificial intelligence helps Northwestern Medicine gastroenterologists detect, remove 13% more colorectal polyps [https://news.nm.org/artificial-intelligence-helps-northwestern-medicine-gastroenterologists-detect--remove-13-more-colorectal-polyps/#:~:text=Physicians%20who%20performed%20colonoscopies%20assisted,Diseases%20Week%20conference%20in%20Chicago]

Ohio plastic surgeon who livestreamed patient operations on TikTok has state medical license revoked permanently [https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/13/us/ohio-doctor-tiktok-license-revoked/index.html]

Rhonda Trotter Fulfills Dream of Becoming a Nurse – 35 Years Later [https://dailynurse.com/rhonda-trotter-fulfills-dream-of-becoming-a-nurse-35-years-later/]

Brought to you by HST Pathways.

Gavin Fabian – The Case Profitability Conundrum 

Maura Cash is the VP of Clinical Strategies here at HST Pathways, and she is here today to talk to us about the ASC industry’s role in reducing the disparity of care. Now if you’re a frequent listener of our show, you know exactly who Maura is and her impact on the industry, so it should be no surprise that she is bringing us this incredibly important information. Together we cover what disparity of care means, what the most common social determinants of health are, how surgery centers come into play, and most importantly, how surgery centers can close the chasm of care.

In our news recap, we’ll cover the FTC’s proposed ban on non-compete laws, the surgeon suing the state of North Carolina over certificate-of-need laws, a tiny patch aiming to reduce the need for bloodwork, and of course, end the news segment with a positive story about a new blood test that can help identify pregnant women who are at a high risk of developing pre-eclampsia.

Articles Mentioned:

Doctors no longer bound by noncompetes under FTC’s proposed ban [https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/physicians-no-longer-bound-by-noncompetes-FTC-ban/639920/]

Meet the surgeon suing North Carolina over certificate-of-need policy [https://www.beckersasc.com/asc-coding-billing-and-collections/meet-the-surgeon-suing-north-carolina-over-certificate-of-need-policy.html]

A Tiny Patch May Someday Do Your Patients' Lab Work [https://www.medscape.com/s/viewarticle/993817]

FDA approves blood test able to predict pre-eclampsia in pregnant women [https://theweek.com/briefing/it-wasnt-all-bad/1024801/the-weeks-good-news-july-6-2023]

Brought to you by HST Pathways.

Maura Cash – The ASC Industry's Role in Reducing the Disparity of Care

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!